Tiger Woods will not play in next week’s U.S. Open: ‘My body needs more time’

Tiger Woods will not play in next week’s U.S. Open.

The 15-time major winner and three-time U.S. Open champion (Pebble Beach, 2000), Bethpage Black (2002) and Torrey Pines (2008) finished 47^th in the Masters and made the cut in the PGA Championship before withdrawing after the third round in his only starts on 2022.

“I previously informed the USGA that I will not be competing in the U.S. Open as my body needs more time to get stronger for major championship golf,” Woods said in a post on Twitter. “I do hope and plan to be ready to play in Ireland at the (J.P, McManus Pro-Am) and at (The Open Championship) next month. I;m excited to get back out there soon!”

Woods continues to recover from a horrific, single-car, rollover crash north of Los Angeles in February 2021 that severely damaged his right leg, ankle and foot. After finishing second alongside son, Charlie, in the PNC Championship in December, Woods stunningly made the cut in the Masters before laboring on the weekend and falling down the leaderboard in April.

Woods looked strong in the early parts of the PGA Championship in May but struggled mightily with his injuries in the second and especially in the third round. Woods also is dealing with the ramifications of five surgeries on his left knee and five surgeries, including spinal fusion, in his back.

Woods has won three Open Championships, two at this year’s venue, St. Andrews in Scotland, the Home of Golf. In 2000, Woods won by eight shots to become the youngest player, at age 24, to win the career Grand Slam. He added his second Open win at St. Andrews in 2005 when he won by five shots.

His third Open championship came in 2006 when he won by two at Royal Liverpool.

His official statement from his Twitter account:

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