Is 83 wins motivating next Tiger comeback? This Tiger insider says so

Tiger Woods has been mum on his health and recovery from recent back injury – hopefully he’ll give some clarity next week if he does a press conference at the Hero World Challenge – but for now all we can go on is the crumbs of info from those who know him best.

This week, his former Stanford teammate and NBC commentator Notah Begay III gave a few insights into Tiger and his potential play on Trey Wingo's podcast, "Straight Facts Homie!" While there’s been lots of chatter about Tiger turning 50 in about a month and becoming eligible for PGA Tour Champions, Begay said Tiger may not be done playing against the flat bellies.

He noted that Tiger is motivated to win his 83rd PGA Tour title and break his current tie with Sam Snead for the most career wins in Tour history.

“In his heart-of-hearts, 83 is a big number. It’s an important number,” Begay said.

Could Tiger Woods visit two venues he's almost never played?

Begay hinted that he could chase that achievement at a couple of tournaments that he’s typically skipped in the past.

“I think there’s a couple venues that could accommodate his current physical condition,” Begay said on the podcast. “I think the biggest problem, in the conversations that I’ve had with him, is the walking. That’s it. He hits it great, he’s in tremendous physical condition. His ball speeds are fast enough, they’re 175-180 (mph) which is adequate for the PGA Tour. It’s just, can he walk 72 holes plus a pro-am? I don’t know, and that’s kind of the big question. So I think that a major championship venue with flatter terrain. Hilton Head with flatter terrain, Colonial with flatter terrain might be targets.”

He continued: “And those are venues that he’s never typically played at. He’s played Colonial once and never went back. And I don’t think he’s ever been to Hilton Head. So I think those are two things that you may see at some point.”

The RBC Heritage is the week after the Masters, which makes that stop feel a bit like wishful thinking for him to do two weeks in a row. The Charles Schwab Challenge is scheduled for two weeks after the PGA Championship and a week before the Memorial, one of his favorite stomping grounds in his prime, and three weeks before the U.S. Open.

Only time will tell. Any golf by Tiger – on any tour – in 2026 would be a win for the game and his loyal fans.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Tiger Woods insider says 83 wins is motivating his possible comeback