Tiger Woods told Jack Nicklaus he is going to play on the Champions Tour because they allow golf carts

• Jack Nicklaus has revealed that Tiger Woods intends to play on the Champions Tour.
• Golf's "senior" tour uses carts, and Woods feels he can compete if he doesn't have to walk.
• Woods was forced to withdraw from this year's Masters because of an injury.

Tiger Woods was forced to withdraw from this year's Masters because of a lingering injury with 30 holes still to play.

We may never see Woods play full-time golf again, but there is growing hope that we will see a lot more of him in a few years.

On Nick Faldo's podcast, Jack Nicklaus revealed that Woods intends to play on golf's senior tour, PGA Tour Champions, and their rule on golf carts is part of the motivation.

"[Tiger] actually can still hit the ball pretty well," Nicklaus told Faldo, via Golf.com. "But he can't walk. He can't walk. And I told him, 'Tiger, you're eligible to take a cart.' He says, 'I'm not going to do that.' He says, 'When I get to the senior tour, I will.'"

Woods, 47, is not eligible for the Champions Tour for three more years. Woods' longtime rival, Phil Mickelson, has been playing events on the tour and has four wins since turning 50 in 2020.

Woods has had several surgeries on his back, including fused vertebrae, and that was before he nearly lost his leg in a scary car accident. In 2021, Woods was driving an SUV before a tournament when he lost control and rolled off the road.

When Faldo pressed Nicklaus on this revelation, Nicklaus made it clear that this is what Woods wants.

"He wants to play the senior tour," Nicklaus said. "He's a competitor."

The Champions Tour has allowed golfers the option of using a cart since 2006. However, in an interesting twist, carts are still not permitted in their five majors. Woods has recently limited his professional golfing to majors and events he hosts. 

Before the Masters, Woods spoke during a press conference about how endurance has been his biggest challenge since the car accident and talked about using a cart on the senior tour.

"The ability and endurance of what my leg will do going forward will never be the same, I understand that," Woods said, later adding: "I just have to be cognizant of how much I can push it. Like Rory was saying, I can hit a lot of shots, but the difficulty for me is going to be the walking going forward. It is what it is. I wish it could be easier. I've got three more years, where I get the little buggy and be out there with Fred, but until then, no buggy."

Woods previously hinted at playing on the Champions Tour. 

"I'm a great cart golfer," Woods said during an appearance on Another Golf Podcast. "Not good at the walking part. So, I guess it's what, three and a half years, I get to ride the buggy like all those guys out there."