A day after it was announced that Tiger Woods turned down a high nine-figure offer from LIV Golf, he disclosed that he's also turning down his spot in the 2022 U.S. Open at The Country Club. Woods, who played both the Masters and PGA Championship, will turn his focus to The Open Championship at St. Andrews.
"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 tweeted. "I do hope and plan to be ready to play in Ireland at JP McManus Pro-Am and at The Open next month. I'm excited to get back out there soon."
Tiger made the cut at both the Masters and the PGA Championship -- something neither Scottie Scheffler, Brooks Koepka nor Jordan Spieth accomplished -- but he withdrew following the third round of the PGA at Southern Hills last month after clearly laboring through leg pain during the event.
Those are Woods' only two professional appearances since his horrific car crash in February 2021.
Woods' leg pain at Augusta National in April seemed more linear, however. It appeared to incrementally become worse over time. At Southern Hills, the pain and problems were more erratic. One day it was manageable, and the next day it was horrific.
This seemed to surprise Woods, and it might be the reason he's skipping the U.S. Open. Tiger doesn't need any surprises before the middle of July when he takes on the 150th Open Championship at the Old Course at St. Andrews.
Woods committed to The Open as soon as he was done playing at Augusta in April. Tiger won at the Old Course in 2000 and 2005, and he has often referred to it as his favorite golf course in the world.
With no additional Opens scheduled at the Old Course through 2025, Woods will be at least 50 years old before it returns to the course. He surely sees this as an opportunity he cannot pass up.
Will Tiger even be able to play majors at age 50 with his body having rehabilitated from so many injuries over the years? That seems like a questionable proposition, which is why he's making every effort -- including protecting himself from potentially four rounds of brutal U.S. Open golf at Brookline -- to get to St. Andrews at the end of July.
In 22 U.S. Opens, Woods has won three times, finished in the top five seven times and missed five cuts. However, he's played just one weekend at the U.S. Open since making the cut in 2013 and doesn't have a top 10 at the tournament since a T4 at Pebble Beach back in 2010 when Graeme McDowell won his only major championship. Five of Woods' 13 missed cuts at majors have come at U.S. Opens.
Rick Gehman, Kyle Porter, Jonathan Coachman and Mark Immelman discuss Tiger's decision to skip the 2022 U.S. Open. Follow & listen to The First Cut on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
