Will Tiger Woods win another major?

On Sunday, 44-year-old Tiger Woods rallied with a final-round 67 to finish 37th at the first major of the 2019-2020 season.

In just his fourth PGA Tour event of the calendar year, the 15-time major champion watched as Collin Morikawa, age 23, hoisted the Wanamaker Trophy with the lowest closing 36-hole score by a major winner.  

While the rising star looked reminiscent of a young Tiger at the PGA Championship, an aging Woods struggled to find the magic that helped earn his 15th major win at last year’s Masters — his first major title since 2008.

That Masters win resurrected a long-running debate as to whether Woods will surpass Jack Nicklaus’ record 18 major victories. But just as quickly as Woods renewed hope in his ability to accomplish the feat, injuries took their toll.

In August of 2019, Woods withdrew from the Northern Trust because of stiffness from an oblique strain. By the end of the month, he underwent an arthroscopic procedure to repair cartilage damage in his left knee.

Woods had already undergone four surgeries on that knee by 2008, when he won his second-to-last major at the U.S. Open. He had another four surgeries on his back and sat out all of the 2016 season and most of 2017, as he dealt with pain.

In 2020, Woods has been picky about when and where he competes. In his first event of the season — and the first since the August arthroscopic procedure — he cruised to a win at the Zozo Championship.

He placed fourth at the Hero World Challenge, landed ninth at the Farmers Insurance Open, and fell to 68th at the Genesis Invitational.

Then the schedule hit a snag, as the world faced the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, Woods has made just two appearances on tour. One came at last week’s major, and the other at the Memorial, where he finished 40th.

Putting was Woods’ weakness last weekend, and he converted just two of 11 save opportunities. Whether his back or intermittent tournament participation contributed to his issues is something we’ll be able to determine better in the coming month. 

The FedEx Cup playoffs kick off Aug. 20, with the Northern Trust at TPC Boston, then head to Olympia Fields for the BMW Championship. If Woods reaches the Tour Championship, it could mark the first time this season he has played three consecutive weeks.

The last time he played back to back was in December’s Hero World Challenge and the following week’s Presidents Cup. In the latter, Woods chose to sit out Saturday play during the three-day event.

With Woods increasing the load on his schedule, we could see a fine-tuned Tiger come fall, or one ailing once again from strain on his back and knee.

Either way, he’ll get two more opportunities at major win No. 16, with the U.S. Open in late August and the Masters set for November.

Which major is Woods most likely to win?

Later this month, Woods will revisit a course that left much of the field scarred in 2006. That year, Geoff Ogilvy won the U.S. Open at Winged Foot at 5-over. Woods missed the cut at 12-over.

It’s unlikely Woods will slay that beast, but if he is healthy in 2021, he’ll get to play the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, where he won the event in 2008. Woods has won a record eight times at Torrey Pines.

Woods could also find his rhythm in time for Augusta. In 22 appearances at the Masters, Woods has missed the cut once (1996), placed in the top five 12 times, and donned the green jacket five times. Only Nicklaus has more Masters victories (six).  

Next year’s PGA Championship will be held at Kiawah Island’s Ocean Course, where Woods tied for 11th at the major in 2012. After that, he’ll have to wait until 2024 to play a course (Valhalla) where he’s already won the PGA Championship. By then, Woods will be 48.

Nicklaus was 46 when he won his final major at Augusta. That achievement closed Nicklaus’ six-year gap between major victories, the longest drought of his career.

Tiger’s Masters win in 2019 ended an 11-year major drought, and the odds of him winning another grow worse with his age.

Julius Boros is the oldest major winner. He prevailed at the PGA Championship at the age of 48 in 1968. The oldest U.S. Open champion is Hale Irwin (45) and Tom Morris Sr. is the oldest Open Championship winner (46).

Time is running out for Tiger to add to his major trophy collection, but if anyone can do it, it’s the man many consider the greatest golfer of all time.

Woods is tied for the most PGA Tour victories (82), has won each of the four majors at least three times, and has the lowest career scoring average in PGA Tour history.

Breaking Nicklaus’ record is virtually out of the picture now, but there is still one more major championship left in Tiger, as long as he can keep swinging.