Golf fans are convinced that they have received the greatest sign yet that Tiger Woods will tee it up at The Masters next month.

The 50-year-old has been sidelined since October when he underwent back surgery - the seventh of his career. He also suffered a torn Achilles in March 2025, which ruled him out of last year's major championship at Augusta National.

The injuries sparked fears over the future of the golfing great's career, ramping up speculation once again over his chances of competing at The Masters. 

However, anxious fans may have received a boost this week when the tournament refreshed its website ahead of the major, which is just three weeks away. 

Eagle-eyed supporters of the 15-time major winner were quick to spot that Woods' biography page on The Masters site had been updated - with one key detail. 

From Thursday, the opening line of Woods' blurb read: 'Tiger Woods is making his 27th Masters start in 2026.' 

Woods made his 26th start at The Masters in 2024, with his first coming all the way back in 1995, when he earned Low Amateur honors. 

His name was also notably excluded from the list of 'Past Champions Not Playing' and was instead included in the 2026 playing field. 

The updated figure and the distinct use of the present tense left fans convinced that Woods is set to make his return to Augusta when the tournament begins on April 9.  

'The Official 2026 Masters app has been updated. I'm ready to get hurt again,' a Woods fan account posted on X, seemingly referring to repeatedly getting their hopes up.

However, just days earlier, Woods had remained mum on his status for the tournament, which he has won five times, as he admitted that his recovery progress was still up and down. 

'I said I've been working on it,' Woods said following the semifinals of TGL, which saw his Jupiter Links seal their spot in the final. 

'Sometimes I have good days, sometimes I have bad days. Disk replacement is not a lot of fun,' he added, according to ESPN.

Woods has not played competitively on the tour since 2024 at the Open Championship at Royal Troon. 

While he played during the inaugural season of TGL, the indoor, tech-infused golf league he co-founded with Rory McIlroy, Woods has been benched for the duration of this season's campaign. 

Woods has taken on the role of 'manager' of his team Jupiter Links, which snuck into the playoffs before sealing their spot in the final with an upset over McIlroy's Boston Common on Tuesday. 

Jupiter Links, which features Tom Kim, Max Homa, Kevin Kisner, and Akshay Bhatia, who has stood in as Woods' replacement, will face Los Angeles Golf Club in the finals starting Monday.

Woods also remained coy on the possibility of playing in the final, despite insisting that he had tried to play in every match this season to no avail. 

'Well, I think that I have been trying to play each and every one of these matches,' he said. 'I've been trying to come back. But it just hasn't worked out that way. ... But the guys here, this team, we have so much fun, I really don't want to screw up the lineup, I just want these guys to keep playing.'