Tiger won't compete in Players Championship
Tiger Woods will skip next week's Players Championship because his back is not ready for competition, he announced Friday.
It was not an easy decision, but I will not be attending @THEPLAYERSChamp. I have to listen to my body and properly rest when needed. My back is simply just not ready for play next week. I'm sad to miss one of the best events of the season, OUR Championship.
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) March 6, 2020
Woods also passed on the Arnold Palmer Invitational because of the same issue.
"This is something that he's going to battle with over the next few years," Tiger's close friend Notah Begay said on Thursday, according to Golf Channel's Rex Hoggard. "It’s just the ebbs and flows of dealing with the physical challenges in his back."
Begay added that Woods is feeling the "ripple effect" of a busy end to 2019, where Tiger won in Japan and captained the United States' Presidents Cup team in Australia.
Woods has only played in two tournaments since the start of 2020, finishing tied for ninth at the Famers Insurance Open and 68th at the Genesis Invitational. There are less than five weeks remaining before Tiger is expected to defend his 2019 Masters title and it's unknown if he'll play again prior to Augusta.
Tiger is a two-time Players Championship winner, with his most recent victory coming in 2013. This will be the fifth time he won't compete at TPC Sawgrass since 1997.