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Image Credit: IMAGO
Imago
Image Credit: IMAGO
Vijay Singh’s sudden decision to retain his PGA Tour card caused a stir. The former Masters champion decided to utilize his career-money exemption to get a fully-exempt status for the 2026 season. However, critics accused him of snatching a spot from a deserving player or a rising star who could’ve teed off in his stead. Now Singh explains his side of the story.
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Speaking to Sports Illustrated, Singh said, “I wanted to play Sony. So instead of asking for a sponsor’s invite, I just said s***, I’m 62, I don’t know how many more years I’m gonna get a chance, it’s the last time to play Sony because it seems like they’re not going back there, so I said, ‘I love the golf course, I love Hawaii, so I might as well just do that’.”
The PGA Tour is undergoing heavy changes that are expected to be rolled out next year. There is a chance that the famed Aloha Swing, consisting of the season-opening Sentry and the Sony Open, will be scrapped. Singh, a former champion of the Sony Open, decided to tee off before it’s too late.
The PGA Tour allows players inside the top-25 career money list a fully-exempt status only once in their career. Singh, 62, decided to utilize it this year. The decision invited a lot of backlash, primarily because it came in the same year the Tour was reducing the number of available cards. Along with that, most tournaments have reduced fields, which means fewer chances for up-and-coming stars.
There is another part to Singh’s decision as well. He doesn’t intend to appear at every PGA Tour stop this season, even though he managed a T40 at the Sony Open while a handful of today’s top golfers missed the cut.
He switched back to the Seniors Tour just a week later. After competing with an average field half his age, Tiger Woods‘ rival is playing in the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai Golf Course in Hawaii. And he shared which other PGA Tour events he plans to play.
“If I wanted to, I can play one or two other [PGA Tour] events if possible. Maybe if I’m fit enough to walk the Masters because that’s a hilly golf course, I may play San Antonio [the Valero Texas Open] a week before that, and Phoenix is a pretty flat golf course, so I could play that. Besides that, I’m happy to be on the Champions tour.”
The 62-year-old was fit enough to compete at the Waiʻalae Country Club in Hawaii last week. However, the venues for the coming weeks might be a bit too taxing for him. As he expressed, he still wishes to play at TPC San Antonio and probably also at Augusta National. However, he will limit his appearances for 2026.
“I always enter a tournament, not just to make up the numbers, I want to compete. Same thing with the Masters, if I go there, I don’t want to go there and just play two days and leave. If my body’s good enough and if I feel my game is good enough, I’m going to go play and play to compete.”
Considering his age, Singh wouldn’t have received many opportunities to retain his PGA Tour membership again. Even in the Champions Tour, the likes of Miguel Angel Jiménez and Steven Alker are dominating the field. But the Fijian legend has struggled to find consistent form. Despite that, he didn’t let the opportunity he took go to waste.
Singh has a lifetime exemption from playing in the Masters Tournament due to his win in 2000. He didn’t make an appearance in it in 2025 due to an injury. However, the 62-year-old did get a T58 finish in the Masters back in 2024. Considering his recent moves, he might join the field on the iconic Georgia course this year.
After finishing T40 at the Sony Open, Vijay Singh is considering playing in a couple more events on the PGA Tour this season.https://t.co/bRtl2OPnVO
— SI Golf (@SI_Golf) January 21, 2026
That said, Singh might need to get enough practice in the Champions Tour as well. Especially if his old rival joins him in the future.
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Vijay Singh might lock horns with Tiger Woods in the Seniors Tour
Tiger Woods is still recovering from his seventh lower-back surgery. Fans might not be expecting him to return for a couple of months. However, once he does make a comeback, he might move to the Champions Tour himself.
Woods is eligible to join Vijay Singh, Ernie Els, and many other old rivals. After he turned 50 on December 30, 2025, he qualified for the Senior Tour for this season. And he might also be at Augusta National based on his fitness level.
The Big Cat already has enough reasons to make the switch. There is a chance that Woods might dominate the 54-hole tournaments the way Phil Mickelson was doing during his brief stint there.
Everyone is only waiting for Woods’s return. It will be clear which Tour he wants to join once he makes a comeback.
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