Tiger Woods is not on the field for the players’ championship next week at TPC Sawgrass, despite a free pass to enter the tournament.
The decision occurs a little more than a month after the death of Woods’ mother, and golf legend spoke this week how much he has trouble reconciling with his loss.
Until Friday, he had not yet made a final decision on his participation in players next week, but the name Woods was not on the list of 144 players when it was released.
The decision may not be surprising after Woods’ recent comments to TGL, in which he revealed that it was only the third time he had been playing since his mother died suddenly on February 4.
Two of these times were in TGL. The other was with President Donald Trump on February 9. He also played on Monday at the Pro-Member Seminole.
“This is the third time that I have touched a club since my mother has passed, so I have not really entered it,” said Woods on Tuesday. “My heart is not to be practiced for the moment.
Earlier this week, Tiger Woods has taken a club for the third time since the death of his mother
Woods had trouble reconciling with the sudden death of his mother Kultida
“I have so many other things to do with the tour. Once I will probably start to feel a little better and start entering it, I will start looking at the calendar.
Woods, a double winner of the players, has not played the flagship event of the PGA Tour since 2019. He equaled the 30th, and a month later, won the Masters for his fifth green jacket and his 15th major championship.
He obtained a five-year exemption for players with this masters’ victory, obtaining an additional year to report on the COVVI-19 pandemic in 2020.
The players were canceled after a round in 2020, although Woods did not entered because he felt a stiffness in the back.
The legend of Woods golf will not play in the players’ championship at TPC Sawgrass next week
Woods played alongside President Donald Trump in the weeks following his mother’s death
There are no special exemptions for players. His only step back would be his performance this year, or if he had to play the PGA Tour champions after being 50 years old and won the Kaulig companies championship – formerly senior players – in Firetone.
If he chooses to play Masters, it would be his first tournament since he missed the Cup at the open last July. Woods is on the list of players, and there is no commitment period for him to decide to play Augusta National.
Woods never missed the Masters Cup as a pro, establishing a tournament record last year with its 24th cup made. He had 19 appearances to the players and failed to cut the cup only once in 2011, when he retired after a 42 on the first nine with a left leg injury.