Tiger Woods is not in the field for The Players Championship next week at TPC Sawgrass, the final year of his exemption for the PGA Tour’s flagship tournament from winning the 2019 Masters.
The decision was not surprising, especially when Woods said after a TMRW Golf League match earlier this week that it was only the third time he had played since his mother, Kultida, died suddenly on Feb. 4.
Two of those times were at TGL. The other was on Feb. 9 with U.S. President Donald Trump, who has been part of the talks to reunite players from the LIV Golf League and the PGA Tour. Woods also played in the Seminole Pro-Member event Monday.
“This is the third time I’ve touched a club since my mom passed, so I haven’t really gotten into it,” Woods said Tuesday. “My heart is not into practicing right now. I have so many other things to do with the tour. Once I start probably feeling a little bit better and start getting into it, I’ll start looking at the schedule.”
Woods, a two-time winner at The Players, has not played the tournament in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, in six years. He tied for 30th in the 2019 event, then won the Masters a month later for his fifth green jacket and his 15th major championship.