What Tiger Woods Really Eats In A Day

Tiger Woods, though an exceptional athlete, is still human. As such, he must eat. It is apparent that he puts effort into his fitness through his performance on the course, and no regimen is complete without a nutritious eating plan. 

With a whopping 106 golf victories around the world, per his website, Woods is nothing short of a legend, and just when many thought he had finished, he made a comeback in 2019 when he won the 83rd Masters (via Golf Channel). Hurdles, in the form of medical issues and controversy in his personal life, did not stop Woods from rejoining the ranks of top-tier professional sportsmen that year at the age of 43.

Correct nutrition is essential for any sports figure's performance, according to a study published in the National Library of Medicine. This means that there is truth to the adage, "You are what you eat," making Woods' or any athlete's success at least partially dependent on their nutritional intake.

Before we talk about what Tiger Woods eats in the morning, let's talk about when. At the final round of the 2019 Masters at the Augusta National Golf Club, the organizers rescheduled the tee-off to an earlier time in the day to avoid impending bad weather. According to Action Network, Woods' slot was scheduled for 9:20 a.m., but the golfer announced that he would wake up at 3:45 that morning for his daily warm-ups, per his interview with CBS Sports. This begs the question: What time did he eat breakfast?

And now for the what: During the early hours of the PGA Championship in May of 2022, Woods raised a few eyebrows when he tucked into a mammoth sandwich on the course. ESPN presenters Scott Van Pelt and Dave Flemming felt it their duty to deliver commentary on Woods' food. After that, anybody who cared knew that Woods was absorbing "a full-on breakfast" in sandwich form, as Flemming put it (via New York Post). Who knows? Maybe this was his first meal of the day.

However, according to Topend Sports, Woods' typical post-workout breakfast (the one that nobody gets to film) is his go-to egg white and veggie omelet recipe.

What Tiger Woods eats during the day is decidedly important. We got this notion earlier during another 2022 tournament when camera operators neglected a crucial moment in the game to film Woods eating a sandwich, reports The Sun. The crew deprived the world of some A-class action from Scottie Scheffler to pry into Woods' lunch break. Fortunately for the golfer's privacy (or unfortunately for fans' curiosity), the camera was not powerful enough to see what was on the sandwich.

Aside from the sandwiches we see him eating on the green (which may or may not technically count as lunch, due to their timing), Woods relies on high-protein sources. He's a fan of fish products like sushi and the nutritional variety that comes with Mediterranean diet-style dining, according to The Beet. Chicken is also an option for his midday sustenance when he is home and may be paired with salads and vegetables, says Topend Sports.

Tiger Woods' most public dinners, of course, are those that he attends or hosts at the Masters Championships. According to Augusta tradition, the defending champion gets to choose and pay for dinner on Tuesday night of the tournament week (via People). Woods, thanks to his prowess at the sport, had to host it in 1998 when he was a mere 22 years of age. As a testimony to his youth, he served cheeseburgers and milkshakes at the exclusive event. 

In 2002 and 2003, his menus were more sophisticated, featuring sushi, crab cakes, and porterhouse steak with an even balance of vegetables, followed by chocolate cake for dessert. In 2006, he leaned toward Mexican cuisine and offered fajitas and seasoned rice with all the bells and whistles, according to Today's Golfer.

We've seen Woods' choice of Masters meals become more exorbitant with each win, but 2020's dinner was one of sheer decadence. The spread, per The Masters on Twitter, consisted of a variety of Woods signatures, like shrimp and tuna sushi, prime steak fajitas, and a rich dessert trio of churros, flan, and sopapillas — all served with wine pairings.

A round of golf can easily last several hours and burn thousands of calories, and because golfers spend so much time on their feet, they need a steady flow of sustenance. A good golf-day snack contains even amounts of carbohydrates, fat, and proteins, according to Golf Monthly. 

Woods is always snacking, and he advised fellow golfer Lexi Thompson that athletes should try to eat something every two to three holes (via GOLF.com). While some golfers resort to protein shakes on the course, others prefer simpler bites, like nuts, to sustain their energy. As we've seen, sandwiches are what do it for Woods. Per TGR Live on Twitter, his favorite snack is composed of whole wheat bread, a thinly sliced banana, and almond or peanut butter with raw unfiltered honey. Woods has such an appetite on the course, in fact, that he has resorted to chewing gum between holes. According to Golf Digest, gum suppresses his insatiable desire for food when he's in sports mode.