The USGA announced on Monday afternoon that Woods won’t be playing in the US Open as he is still recovering from a series of injuries and surgeries.
Woods has won the tournament three times since he started playing in 1995. His most recent outing in the major was in 2020. In addition to his three wins (2000, 2002, and 2008), he has also had eight Top 10 finishes.
His last Top 10 finish was back in 2010. Since then, he has missed seven tournaments, this year included. In that time, he has also missed three cuts and has not finished higher than T21.
The US Open is where Woods had his most memorable win – the 2008 one. There, he was in a playoff against Rocco Mediate.
Woods is continues to be one of the highest-regarded players in golf but it cannot be denied that since the start of the second of his career, he has hit a bit of a slump. He’s had to deal with a series of injuries as well as issues off-course.
Just recently, he has had to deal with a court case involving an ex-partner.
To his credit, despite everything that he has had to deal with, Woods has tried to remain competitive. Over the past three years, he has played in five of a possible 12 majors.
He had also withdrawn from the recently concluded 2023 Masters and a little over a week later, he announced that he had undergone surgery to address arthritis issues. No timetable has been given on when he would return to playing.