Tiger Woods drops major hint at return to golf amid Ryder Cup rumours

A video on social media has sparked excitement about a possible return to action

Tiger Woods has teased a potential return to golf with a social media post.

Woods, 47, underwent ankle surgery in April and hasn’t played since. He was spotted last month hitting some one-handed chip shots in practice, and on Sunday he posted a short video hitting a full wedge shot at Pebble Beach’s short course, The Hay, fuelling speculation about a return.

Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis tweeted: “I believe there is a good chance we will see @TigerWoods tee it up at the Hero World Challenge later this year.”

Meanwhile Woods has been tipped to take over the Ryder Cup captaincy for Team USA.

Zach Johnson oversaw a heavy 16.5-11.5 defeat by Europe in Rome last weekend and there is momentum building behind the idea of Woods taking the reins.

“We’ve got to call and ask him,” said David Love III, a former captain himself. “Obviously, Tiger’s into a lot of stuff right now, and I hate to put pressure on him, but it’s his call. Obviously, with some guys out, he’s the next logical choice. I don’t know if we want to put that much time and effort into it.”

He added: “It takes a lot out of you. Hopefully, we can talk him into it. It’s incredibly hard.

“I told a few people over at the Ryder Cup, I said, ‘This is my last time.’ And they were like, ‘No, no, no,’ and I’m like ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah. It’s time.’ I told that to Tiger in 2019, I said, ‘I’m done.’

“He said, ‘Yeah, you’re right, probably time, who do we think we ought to get, young guys?’ And then Steve Stricker brought me right back in the next year.”

The next Ryder Cup will be hosted at Bethpage Black, New York in 2025.