Tiger Woods will miss The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass for the sixth straight year, with the 15-time Major winner opting against entering the flagship tournament that starts next week.
The former World No.1 was not expected to feature, having told reporters earlier in the week that “my heart is really not into practicing right now.
“This is the third time I’ve touched a club since my mom passed so I haven’t really gotten into it,” Woods said after his Jupiter Links GC side were eliminated from the TGL.
Now, following confirmation of the Players Championship field on Friday evening, it’s confirmed that Woods will be missing out on a tournament that he last appeared in back in 2019.
Woods added: “Once I start probably feeling a little bit better and start getting into it, I’ll start looking at the schedule.”
The 49-year-old has not played a competitive event since The Open at Royal Troon last July, with Woods undergoing back surgery in September.
Although Woods played alongside his son Charlie in the PNC Championship in December, it’s clear that he has to manage his schedule very carefully in order not to risk sustaining further injuries.
THE PLAYERS Championship is the first of five events this season offering 750 FedExCup points to the winner. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler seeks to join Jack Nicklaus (1974, 1976, 1978) as the only three-time winners of THE PLAYERS Championship and become the first to win the… pic.twitter.com/fUyWFebpvoMarch 7, 2025
At one stage, it looked as though he would compete in the Genesis Invitational after the passing of his mother Kultida early last month, but he ultimately made the decision to withdraw.
There is just one more PGA Tour event in Florida, the Valspar Championship, and two more in Texas prior to The Masters, although it would be a surprise to see Woods in action before the first men’s Major Championship of the season at Augusta National.
Tiger Woods poses with the Players Championship trophy in 2013
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Should the 82-time PGA Tour winner decide that he’s mentally and physically well enough to tee it up in Texas, it remains possible that we could see him at either the Texas Children’s Houston Open or the Valero Texas Open.
However, history tells us that it’s more likely that he’ll head to Augusta National as early as possible in order to get his game in as good a shape as he can.