After winning the Masters in 2019, Tiger Woods, among other things, earned a five-year exemption into the Players Championship—an automatic spot in the PGA Tour’s flagship event that he will never have utilized.
Barring a change in qualification criteria or a miraculous run of success later this year, Woods has quite possibly played the tournament at TPC Sawgrass for the last time, having failed to enter next week’s event by Friday’s deadline.
Woods, 49, who last played the tournament six years ago when he tied for 30th just a few weeks prior to the Masters, was expected to play at least once prior to the year’s first major championship.
Following a missed cut in July at the British Open, Woods had a sixth back procedure in September and returned to the exhibition PNC Championship with his son in December, walking 54 holes—including the pro-am—and generally looking pretty good considering his various physical setbacks.
He originally planned to play the Genesis Invitational that was moved to Torrey Pines due to the Southern California wildfires last month but withdrew the Monday before the tournament started.
The Players seemed a logical place to land given his role with the PGA Tour on the policy board and its distance from the Masters, with three more tournament weeks in between.
But on Tuesday following his TGL match, Woods’s words suggested it was unlikely he’d play. His mom, Kultida, passed away on Feb. 4 and he admitted that has been on his mind when asked if he was preparing to play.
“Not really,” he said. “This is the third time I’ve touched a club since my mom passed, so I haven’t really gotten into it. My heart is really not into practicing right now. I’ve had so many other things to do with the Tour and trying to do other things.
“Once I start probably feeling a little bit better and start getting into it, I’ll start looking at the schedule.”
Woods’s exemption was extended a year due to the tournament not being played in 2020.
And while he has expressed a desire to play more, it appears his first start now might not come until the Masters, where he finished last among those who made the cut a year ago.
It is possible Woods could play the Valspar Championship the week after the Players. He tied for second there in his lone appearance in 2018. If not, he’ll go to Augusta National having not played an official round since last July.
The $25 million Players Championship is one of the few events for which Woods cannot get invited. As a lifetime member of the PGA Tour, he can play any regular event and would have no trouble getting sponsor invites regardless.
The Tour created a special category for him to play in the Signature events without taking away a spot from anyone else. The only one he has played in the last two years is the Genesis, a tournament his foundation runs.
As a past champion, he is eligible to play the Masters and PGA Championship as well as the Open until age 60. His five-year exemption from the Masters has run out at the U.S. Open, which he won three times. Last year, Woods received a special invite from the USGA to play at Pinehurst and would need one this year as well at Oakmont.
That would almost be a lock as this is the 25th anniversary of Woods’s 2002 U.S. Open victory at Pebble Beach where he won by 15 shots.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Tiger Woods Won't Play in Next Week's Players Championship.
