ORLANDO, Fla. – The deadline came and went Friday afternoon and Tiger Woods uttered nary a word publicly.
In what might be viewed as a mild surprise, Woods was not listed among the 144-player field for next week’s Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, home of the PGA Tour.
Although Woods never said he would play the Tour’s flagship event, the expectation was that he’d compete in the tournament due its timing on the schedule – three full tournament weeks following his lone start this year at the Genesis Invitational, with three more full tournaments to recover and ramp up prior to the Masters.
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But Woods will be a no-show when the top players on the PGA Tour – plus anyone eligible who is among the top 50 in the world – begin play next Thursday. Scottie Scheffler is the defending champion.
Woods, 48, had suggested back in December that he could see himself playing a once-a-month schedule given the improvement in his right ankle following ankle surgery last year. He played the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas as well as the PNC Championship with his son, Charlie.
His start at the Genesis was halted after just six holes of the second round due to illness. He reported no other physical issues, although a day earlier, Woods noted he had some back-spasm issues during his round of 72.
On Monday, Woods played in the-day Seminole Pro-Member at Seminole in South Florida, a who’s-who of members and pro golfers. And it was said to have gone well.
“Everybody that watched him play at Seminole said he just hit it absolutely down the middle of the golf course,’’ said Brad Faxon earlier this week during an interview with SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio. “He hit a 5-wood at the par-15th and I guess he flew it about 256 yards in the air and it stopped 1 inch for the hole for a tap-in eagle, so people were just like in awe to be able to see him play.’’
Now they will apparently have to wait until the Masters, April 11-14, where he has played in each of the past two years following his February 2021 car crash in which he had several injuries to his lower right leg, ankle and foot.
It is possible that Woods could enter the Valspar Championship – he tied for second there in 2018 – the following week but that seems unlikely given the lack of time between that and the Masters.
Woods has made the cut 23 straight times at Augusta National, dating to his 1997 Masters his victory, the first of five. That tied a record held by Gary Player and Fred Couples.
Last year, after playing the Genesis Invitational, Woods made the cut again at the Masters, but withdrew prior to the resumption of the rain-delayed third round and had surgery a few weeks later. He did not play again until the Hero World Challenge in December.
“My ankle doesn't hurt anymore because no bones are rubbing anymore,’’ he said at the Genesis Invitational. “But then again, it's different. Other parts of my body have to take the brunt of it. Just like my back is fused so other parts of my body have taken the brunt of that. I have two different body parts that are now fused. Yeah, other parts of the body have to adapt.’’
