As The 151st Open Championship draws nearer and nearer, the world's elite are fully focused on a potential victory at one of the biggest tournaments in golf. One player that won't be present at Royal Liverpool though is Tiger Woods, with the three-time Claret Jug winner missing from the event.
It's no secret that Woods has had his injury problems in 2023, with the 15-time Major winner withdrawing from the 2023 Masters due to his plantar fasciitis injury being reaggravated in the third round. The injury stemmed from a serious car crash in 2021 and, not long after the withdrawal at Augusta National, Woods revealed that he had undergone a subtalar fusion procedure in New York to address post-traumatic arthritis from a previous fracture.
Obviously, with Woods now recovering from the surgery, he had to withdraw from the PGA Championship, US Open and, back in June, The 151st Open Championship, and it is unclear as to when he will return to competitive action.
A three-time winner of The Open in 2000, 2005 and 2006, it was the Claret Jug triumph in 2006 that came at the this week's venue, Royal Liverpool. Famously, the 47-year-old hit just one driver in the tournament, with Woods dedicating the victory to his father, who sadly passed away just two months prior.
As mentioned, we are unsure as to when he will return to golf but his fusion surgery in April should eliminate the pain in his ankle and ensure that he finds walking much easier in the future. If his recovery goes well and there are no further injuries, the World Golf Hall of Famer could make a return at the end of the year.
Between now and then, there is the Hero World Challenge, an event which Woods hosts in the Bahamas, as well as the PNC Championship, a tournament which Tiger has played in the last few years with son Charlie. At that tournament, he will also be able to ride in a cart.
