Tiger Woods will not take part in the Hero World Challenge 2024 due to various serious injuries. On Tuesday, while hosting his annual tournament in the Bahamas, the 15-time major champion expressed uncertainty about his return to the golf course after undergoing a sixth back operation in September this year.
“I’m not fit to play in a tournament yet, no. “I’m still not ready,” Woods said. “These are 20 of the best players in the world and I'm not smart enough to compete against them at this level. So if I’m ready to compete and play at that level, then I will.”
It was at the Hero World Challenge a season ago when Woods was a surprise addition to the field. Ultimately, Woods finished 18th among the 20 players and left the tournament confident that he would be able to play on the PGA Tour once a month in 2024.
Tiger's ambitions were never fulfilled as he withdrew from the Genesis Invitational in February due to illness and back spasms; he wasn't seen again until the Masters. The 48-year-old made it to a record 24th consecutive year at Augusta National, but fell to the bottom of the leaderboard at the end of the tournament. Missed cuts followed in the final three major championships of the season – his only other starts in 2024.
“I didn’t think my back would be like it was this year,” Woods said. “It's been pretty painful all year and so I had another operation to relieve the pain I was having in my leg. So whether my commitment is once a month in the future, yes, I could say that again, but I really don't know.
“I'm just trying to rehab and still get stronger and better and feel better. I'm really giving myself the best chance I can for next year. This year was kind of – I had to throw it away, and I didn't. “As sharp as I needed to be, and I didn't play as much as I needed to for the major championships, and I didn't play well there. Hopefully next year it will be better – physically I will be. I know the procedure has helped and hopefully I can build on that then.”
Since he was seriously injured and hospitalized after a car accident in February 2021, Woods has played in just 10 official PGA Tour events, missing four cuts and forfeiting three times. His last top-20 finish on the PGA Tour came at the 2020 Farmers Insurance. He has made just two starts after securing his 82nd career win at the Zozo Championship last fall.
“I just try to test little by little [my back]“I want to continue to make progress without triggering it,” Woods said. “I don't want to suffer any setbacks, I just want to keep making progress and give myself the best possible chance for next year.” I feel like I'm getting stronger. I’m getting smoother, but I still have a long way to go to be able to compete against these guys.”
