Golf: Woods to skip Hero World Challenge
Sign up now: Get the biggest sports news in your inbox
Tiger Woods said he still intends to compete in The Match on Dec 10.
PHOTO: AFP
Follow topic:
BAHAMAS – Tiger Woods pulled out of the Hero World Challenge because of a foot injury he said he sustained in “preparation and practice”.
The tournament begins on Thursday at Albany Golf Club in the Bahamas. Woods has hosted it since 2000.
“I’ve developed plantar fasciitis in my right foot, which is making it difficult to walk,” Woods, who was replaced in the field by Sepp Straka, posted on Twitter on Monday.
“After consulting with my doctors and trainers, I have decided to withdraw this week and focus on my hosting duties.”
Woods, 46, said he still intends to compete in The Match on Dec 10 and the PNC Championship later in the month.
The Match will be played at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida, and Woods will partner world No. 1 Rory McIlroy against fellow Americans Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth.
The following week, Woods is due to partner his 13-year-old son, Charlie, in the PNC event, marking their third appearance in it.
The event, to be held from Dec 15 to 18 at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club Orlando, is for reigning and past winners of either a Major or The Players championship and a family member. The Woods duo were second last December, two shots behind John Daly and his son, John Daly II.
The elder Woods returned to competitive golf at the 2021 PNC Championship, just 10 months following a serious car crash. He played a limited 2022 schedule and has not competed since The Open Championship in July.
Meanwhile, McIlroy believes he gave Woods Covid-19 as the two prepared for the British Open earlier in July.
In an interview with The Independent that was published on Sunday, the Ulsterman revealed he and Woods had been playing at the JP McManus Pro-Am in Ireland in the run-up to the British Open when he started to feel symptoms.
“I rang Tiger: ‘I’m not feeling so good here.’ And he goes, ‘Oh, I feel OK.’ But he texted me at 10 o’clock that night, chills, fever, and I’m like, ‘I’ve just given Tiger Covid! This is horrendous!’ So we both had Covid going into The Open.”
Despite not being at 100 per cent, McIlroy entered the final round in the lead, but was overtaken by eventual champion Cameron Smith and runner-up Cameron Young to finish third while Woods, still feeling the effects of his serious car crash in February 2021, ended up missing the cut. REUTERS
