Following his withdrawal at the Genesis Invitational in February due to flu, it has been confirmed that Tiger Woods won't be at The Players Championship, with the 15-time Major winner missing the Friday evening entry deadline.
The two-time Players Championship winner has not featured in the PGA Tour's crowning jewel since 2019, when he finished T30, and for 2024, his absence looks to extend further as Woods was not listed in the field for TPC Sawgrass with the reason currently unknown.
Field for the 50th playing of THE PLAYERS Championship: pic.twitter.com/twIbUnA3GcMarch 8, 2024
As mentioned, Woods was forced to withdraw from the Genesis Invitational on the Friday following a bout of illness. Following the withdrawal, attention turned to where he would pop up next with the Players Championship the odds on favorite.
However, with the American not featuring at the $25 million tournament, it seems that the next time he will tee it up will be at the Masters in April, an event he was forced to withdraw from last year due his plantar fasciitis injury being reaggravated.
Following the Masters, Woods underwent surgery and made a return at the Hero World Challenge at the end of November, some seven months after going under the knife. At the event, he finished 18th out of 20 players in the field on level par - 20 strokes behind winner, Scottie Scheffler.
A decent T5 result in the two-day PNC Championship alongside son Charlie capped off 2023, and Woods Sr was not seen again until hosting the Genesis Invitational on the PGA Tour in February.
Since then, the 82-time PGA Tour winner has only competed in the Seminole Pro-Member where he and playing partner Seth Waugh - CEO of the PGA of America - finished five shots behind 'nett' winners, Erik van Rooyen and John Pinkham in T33 on 67. Meanwhile, Woods and Waugh were T44 in the 'gross' division thanks to a 70.
Previously, Woods stated that he plans to play around one tournament a month moving forward in order to allow himself to properly prepare, compete, and recover - thus sustaining his time on the PGA Tour. However, with the 48-year-old not showing at The Players, it will likely be two months since we have seen him in a competitive event.
Regarding his record at The Players Championship, Woods is 17 for 17 in terms of making the cut, although he has withdrawn twice in the final round due to injury. Otherwise, he has racked up three top-10 results and five separate top-25 finishes, as well as victories in 2001 and 2013.
