Tiger Woods because he still wants to play golf with his children, Andy North has claimed. But the double US Open champion fears the American superstar will never "compete" again.

, who turns 50 in December, has in training and is set to miss the rest of the season. He made the cut for a record 24th time in Augusta last year but missed the weekend in the other three Majors and has not played since the Open.

Woods has been seen at sporting events with his teenage children Sam Alexis and Charlie. He played with Charlie at the 2024 PNC Championship in Florida with Sam as his caddie.

And asked about the playing future of the five-time Masters champion, double US Open winner North told ESPN: “I’ve got to believe that, deep down in my heart, he is one of the great competitors of all time, but if he didn’t have any children, I don’t know if he’d be playing now.

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“I think one of the reasons he’s worked so hard after the accident was because it gave him a great opportunity to spend so much time with Charlie and play with his son, and watch Charlie get better.

“He made a comment to me one time that there are days Charlie comes home from school and embarrasses me into going and play nine holes late in the afternoon with him. I think that’s something that’s so special.

“Now we’re getting to the point that this next rehab is going to be brutally difficult for him. He doesn’t have to prove anything to anybody. He’s done everything he needed to do. If he were to announce in the next month or two that, you know what, I’m never playing competitive golf again. I think that would be great, and no one would have an issue with that.

“I think that the competitor in him – you know, you always think you can rehab. You always think you can come back. You always believe that you can do this. But I don’t have any magic answers there. I would think that he’s going to try to play some events after this rehab. Is it going to be a Tiger Woods that can compete? Deep in my heart, I don’t think so.”

Former US Ryder Cup captain Curtis Strange, who skippered Woods in 2002, added: “These great players, superstars, always talked about they never want to be a ceremonial player or something to that effect, like it’s a negative. I want to see him at Augusta for a long time in the future playing. He’s not going to play the way he wants to, but I think the people would love to see him, much like they saw Jack and Arnie, especially Arnie, for a long time.

“I think we need those people around, to be around the younger generation, to answer questions, to learn by example, how to play golf courses. Just be part of the elder statesman society. I hope he gets back to where he can play. We don’t even know if he can play ever again. It’s going badly.

“But especially here, where he can come back and be comfortable and just be around. The people can’t get enough of him. We can’t get enough of him. It would be sad that he wouldn’t come back here and play in the future, but what the future holds, we have no idea.”