A who’s who of the world’s most iconic golfers gathered in Augusta on Tuesday for the annual Masters Champions Dinner.
Legends of the game including Arnold Palmer and Gary Player donned their seminal green jackets for a dinner with dishes selected by 2024’s tournament champ, Scottie Scheffler. The menu featured cheeseburger sliders and firecracker shrimp.
It’s an annual tradition like no other, but there was one notable absence: Five-time Masters champion Tiger Woods.
Woods, 49, skipped this year’s feast, and isn’t expected to be in Georgia for the historic first major of the year.
It sparked questions and concerns among fans as to why he, and his new girlfriend Vanessa Trump, 47, were absent.
Woods is still recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon in his left ankle, an injury he sustained while practicing at home. He seems to be convalescing in Florida.
But sources close to the legendary golfer tell the Daily Mail that he wanted to respect the event and not overshadow anyone else with his presence.
Woods, they say, is also still reeling from the death of his mother, Kultida Woods, in February and wants to keep his relationship with President Donald Trump’s former daughter-in-law private.
Tiger Woods missed the iconic Masters Champions Dinner at Augusta on Tuesday night, leaving fans wondering why the legendary golfer — and new flame Vanessa Trump — were absent
Friends say that Woods did not want his romance with Vanessa Trump to be a ‘distraction’
‘The Masters is all about tradition and not to parade an agenda or your new girlfriend,’ one insider says. ‘Tiger doesn’t want to be a distraction especially since he isn’t playing.’
‘He saw the media brouhaha when it came out that he and Vanessa were dating, and he didn’t want to bring that to Augusta,’ another source told the Daily Mail.
‘It would become a sideshow, and Tiger now tries to avoid as many circuses as possible.
‘He views Augusta – and the Masters specifically – as sacred ground, and he doesn’t need to turn it into something all about Tiger Woods and the president’s ex-daughter-in-law.’
The source said Woods is also ‘trying to minimize the news coverage’ for the sake of both of their children, who are still acclimating to the new relationship.
Read More
EXCLUSIVE
Leaked: Tiger Woods' humiliating phone call with ex-wife about his new lover Vanessa Trump
‘This is a lot to take in, and the last thing he wanted was for the media to splash pictures of him and Vanessa at the dinner. So he skipped.’
In March, the Daily Mail exclusively revealed that the former World Number One was dating Vanessa, the ex-wife of Donald Trump Jr.
Days after the reveal, the 15-time Major winner posted affectionate pictures with his girlfriend on Instagram – it has been his only public mention of their relationship.
The Daily Mail confirmed Woods and Trump have been dating since Thanksgiving.
They live 20 minutes apart in the wealthy southern Florida enclave of Palm Beach, and were spotted together at a golf tournament in February.
But fans took note of their absence this time around.
Masters organizers shared this year’s picture of the Augusta winners at the 2025 gathering.
And while it was a photo filled with champs, Woods’ absence was the most striking aspect, especially given how fans were desperate for a sighting of the golfer just a month after his devastating injury.
He last won the Masters in 2019, capping off an incredible comeback after persistent back problems and a roller coaster of scandals in his personal life – including revelations he cheated on wife Elin Nordegren with multiple women.
Historically, he has been a fixture at the tournament, only missing it one other time in 2021 following a horrific single-car car accident in California. Woods sustained injuries, including a crushed leg, which led to months of surgeries and grueling rehab that included inserting a metal rod in his legs and screws and pins in his ankle.
The accident had been so bad that Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Woods was ‘lucky to be alive’ after the crash.
This year, though, he wasn’t completely uninvolved: Woods made a video appearance to announce he’s building a par-3 course in Augusta.
Fans raised concerns about his health, with one social media user posting on X that he ‘didn’t look well’ in the video.
The insiders tell Daily Mail he is laser-focused on his health, and is still planning a comeback.
‘He is rehabbing because the next time he is at the Masters, he wants to be there to play,’ our first source said, adding that if he and Vanessa are still together, she’d be welcome to join him.
In March, the Daily Mail exclusively revealed that the former World Number One was dating Vanessa Trump, the ex-wife of Donald Trump Jr.
Friends say Woods is also still mourning the loss of his mother, Kultida Woods (right)
Tiger Woods on the final hole of the Masters in 2024
‘He is still reeling over his mother’s passing,’ says the first source. ‘He is going to gradually introduce Vanessa into his world, but right now, he is dealing with things internally until he is in a better place emotionally and physically.
‘Even Tiger needs a break from his world, and he is using this time to figure everything out.’
‘Tiger doesn’t do anything he doesn’t want to do at this point,’ adds the second source, ‘and he just didn’t want to go to the Masters dinner.
‘It wasn’t out of disrespect. He had his reasons. He simply didn’t want to go.’