Will Tiger Woods be present in EA Sports PGA Tour Road to the Masters?
Tiger Woods was one of the first names that came to people's minds when the EA Sports PGA Tour was announced a few days back. That's not unnatural, given that the American is one of the greatest golfers of all time. Additionally, many expect that EA Sports' latest venture will include real-life golfers.
Much has been revealed about the upcoming title, which will find a direct contender in 2K Sports' PGA Tour 2K23. The latter was released last winter and has done reasonably well since its launch. One of its unique selling points is its ability to let players play as a simulation of real-life professionals.
Expectations from the EA Sports PGA Tour will be quite high, as the studio has a rich catalog of sports games. Whether Madden NFL 23 or FIFA 23, all games pride themselves on their licenses. The upcoming golf simulator has already confirmed the presence of professional golfers. However, there could be plenty of disappointment for fans expecting the existence of a Tiger Woods avatar in it.
Tiger Woods confirmed his absence from EA Sports PGA Tour with a social media tweet
As mentioned earlier, EA Sports PGA Tour will directly compete with PGA Tour 2K23. 2K's title not only enjoys a first-mover advantage with an earlier launch, but it will also contain some exclusive licenses with golfers. One of them happens to be Tiger Woods, who posted about their exclusive membership with 2K.
The only way to play as me, and my friends, is in PGA TOUR 2K23, available now. #team2k https://t.co/5lwCJ73o4v
Incidentally, Tiger Woods has partnered with EA Sports in the past before the latter had a change of plans. Of course, that was back in 2015, and since then, the studio in Vancouver has stayed away from video game adaptations of golf.
Nonetheless, things will soon change on March 24, when the EA Sports PGA Tour launches across all platforms. Players will have plenty of exciting features to test out, some of which will be inherited from the existing set of products. As for the playable characters, professional golfers will be present.
Be that as it may, Tiger Woods seems to be an exclusive, at least for the time being, as his license lies with 2K. He has returned as the cover icon of PGA Tour 2K23, and hence will play no part with EA Sports, for the present.
The future could be different if any revisions are made to the terms and conditions of the deal. In the interim, players will have to choose PGA Tour 2K23 if they want to enjoy gaming as Tiger Woods' avatar.
Will EA Sports PGA Tour have licensed golfers?
Below is a list of the golfers confirmed for the EA Sports PGA Tour who will be available at launch -
- Scottie Scheffler
- Cameron Champ
- Xander Schauffele
- Sungjae Im
- Nelly Korda
- Lexi Thompson
- Jordan Spieth
- Tony Finau
- Hideki Matsuyama
EA Sports could add more of them in the future as post-launch content. Licensed venues across 30 different options will also be available, as well as different game modes. Overall, the upcoming title looks ambitious, even though it misses out on some of the biggest golfers of current times.