Tiger Woods has announced that he will not be able to play in the Hero World Challenge, the annual postseason tournament he hosts in Albany, Bahamas, which this year takes place from December 5-8. However, the Tiger has not revealed the exact reason why he will not participate, although it should be remembered that last September he underwent a “micro lumbar spine decompression surgery for a pinched nerve in the lower back”.
However, in his message on the social network ‘X’, the Californian golfer explained that he will attend as a host: “I am disappointed not to be able to compete this year in the Hero World Challenge, but I am always looking forward to hosting the tournament and spending the week with Hero Moto Corporation”. Woods also announced that there will be exemptions for Justin Thomas, Jason Day and Nick Dunlap.
Since Tiger suffered a serious traffic accident in February 2021 in which he almost lost his right leg, he has not competed regularly. Initially, he said he would try to play once a month, but that was a pipe dream. The 15-time major winner had to focus on the majors and last season was also able to play in the Hero World Challenge and the Genesis Invitational, tournaments in which he is involved; not even The Players has returned to his very limited schedule. His last victory dates back to 2019, at the ZOZO Championship, shortly after his incredible triumph at the Masters that same year. Today he is still tied on the PGA Tour’s all-time list with Sam Snead with 82 victories.
Since that accident he has only been in 11 tournaments and this year, out of five appearances, he only made the cut at the Masters (60th place). However, there is a Christmas event that Tiger attends annually to play with his son Charlie and so far he has not said that he will not attend. It is the PNC Championship (December 21-22), for which he will probably use a golf cart to get around the course, as he has done on other occasions. In any case, the situation of the iconic golfer, who will turn 49 in January, remains an enigma as he is not fully physically recovered.
Read the full article here
