‘Woods to sit out rest of season’
American to miss all 4 majors for 1st time in his career
WASHINGTON, July 20, (RTRS): Tiger Woods has shut it down for the rest of the professional golf season, bringing into question his playing future as the best golfer of his generation will be away from the sport for over a year when, and if, he returns.
Woods, who is recovering from multiple back surgeries that have kept him out of action for nearly a year, hinted earlier this year that he might not play in 2016 but it was finally made official on Tuesday.
The PGA Championship announced that Woods had withdrawn from the July 28-31 event at Baltusrol, marking the first time he will miss all four majors in a calendar year, while his agent told Golf Channel that his client is done for the season.
“Continuing to make progress, but simply not ready for PGA,” Woods’s agent, Mark Steinberg, told Golf Channel. “Will not play in the ‘15/’16 season and will continue to rehab and work hard to then assess when he starts play for the ‘16/’17 season.”
Steinberg did not immediately respond to an email request from Reuters seeking confirmation of the report.
No one, not even Woods, can possibly know how the former world number one will fare when he makes his PGA Tour return after an absence that dates back to the Wyndham Championship in August 2015, where he tied for 10th.
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Woods, famously, used to say he would never tee it up in a golf tournament unless he thought he was capable of winning and he is clearly being cautious about rushing his return to a game that has since seen a handful of young stars crowd the top of the world rankings.
Woods, who made 11 starts on the PGA Tour last season and just seven the season before, had his first back surgery in early 2014. A second microdisectomy was performed last September with a follow-up procedure six weeks later.
In late February, in an effort to shoot down reports that suggested he endured setbacks during his rehabilitation process, Woods posted a video of himself swinging a golf club in front of an indoor golf simulator, seemingly without discomfort.
A week later the 14-times major champion said he was feeling “a lot better” and still had intentions of playing golf “at the highest level.” In mid-May, Woods said he was “progressing nicely” but then hit three balls into the water on a short parthree hole during an exhibition to promote a tournament he hosts. Last month, Woods indicated that he might not return to competition this year, saying he needed to be patient during his recovery.
A winner of 79 PGA Tour titles, Woods was world number one a record total of 683 weeks but his form has slipped dramatically in recent years due to injuries and the mastering of a new swing, while his ranking has plummeted to a mind-boggling 628th.
“It’s been a long road,” Woods said in April after playing his first stretch of holes since last August, at a golf course opening in Montgomery, Texas.
“To actually be able to play soccer with my kids again, to do something like this, to be able to live life, that’s what’s been nice. Five months ago I couldn’t.”
The 40-year-old Woods has not won a tournament since 2013 and last won a major at the 2008 US Open.
Sweden’s first male winner of a major golf championship, Henrik Stenson, joked that he needed to win another nine such titles before he could be considered as successful as Swedish soccer star Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Stenson, 40, who beat American Phil Mickelson at Royal Troon on Sunday to win the Open, finished eight-under-par 63, which was a new fourth-round low for the tournament. His final score of 20 under par was also a record for any major championship. Stenson has attracted huge attention in his home country, but said he had some way to go to match Ibrahimovic.
“I think I said I would need to win 10 majors to get up to his recognition but maybe five will do it. We’ll see! One at a time,” Stenson told British media.
“This is huge back home and it has been quite chaotic with all the media, but it is all good and I am just going to try to recharge.”
Stenson’s modesty is in contrast to Ibrahimovic’s relentless self-promotion. Announcing his departure from Paris Saint Germain in May, he declared: “I came like a king, left like a legend.” He is joining Manchester United this season.
Golf will be part of the Olympics for the first time since 1904 at next month’s Rio Games, but a number of high-profile players, including the top four, have pulled out due to concerns over the Zika virus.
Stenson, however, is keen to add an Olympic medal to his Claret Jug.
“It is important. I have been looking forward to it for a good few years. It is always a great honour to represent your country,” Stenson said.