The final round of the 2022 PGA Championship will be played without Tiger Woods.
Immediately following his third-round 79, Woods said that he felt sore and was unsure if he’d play in Sunday’s final round. On Saturday evening, it was announced that Woods had withdrawn from the tournament.
Tiger Woods has withdrawn after Round 3 from the 2022 PGA Championship. pic.twitter.com/I4TiYAgvoM
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 21, 2022
Following the news, several fans of golf sent their best wishes to Tiger. A popular sentiment shared was the hope that Tiger will heal up in time to be healthy for the Open Championship in July.
Rest up, large Cat. Preferably until The Open https://t.co/NAGTV0ifVs
— James Moran (@SmartestMoran) May 21, 2022
Thank you for playing! Hit the hot tub man. https://t.co/pk7q4QNSFG
— Brian Jeffords (@BPJeffords) May 21, 2022
Rest up and we’ll see you at St Andrew’s champ 💪 https://t.co/Oe0ARB1Zh8
— Colum Carville (@columc123) May 21, 2022
The right decision by Tiger Woods. It’s a miracle he’s playing. https://t.co/wUkgwAZlQI
— Ron Carthen (@rcarthen) May 21, 2022
Don't forget Tiger is 2/2 on making the cut at majors this year. https://t.co/WIsR2khWMr
— Adam King (@AdamKing10TV) May 21, 2022
We rise again at St. Andrews. 🐐 @TigerWoods https://t.co/JFzpYgR7L6
— E.J. Luna (@EJ1una) May 21, 2022
Wonder if he skips the U.S. Open. Feels like he could have a legitimate shot at St. Andrews, assuming his leg holds up for the entire tournament. https://t.co/zF7hhMz1QC
— Bennett Conlin (@BennettConlin) May 21, 2022
Woods has played sparingly since his car accident in January, 2021. Since that crash, the only competitive event Tiger competed in was the Masters in April. Woods started well at Augusta and made the cut, but had some struggles as his tournament came to an end.
Shortly after his Masters concluded, Tiger committed to playing in July’s British Open at St. Andrews. At the time, he made no such commitments to either the PGA Championship or June’s U.S. Open. While he teed it up at the PGA, he’s yet to make an announcement regarding the U.S. Open.
Obviously, Tiger’s health will be a big factor in whether he plays the U.S. Open at Brookline. But he’s on a rebuilt knee and is clearly having a hard time getting around a course for 72 holes. Waiting until the Open in July to play again would buy more time for Woods to heal his rebuilt knee. Conversely, the U.S. Open is less than a month away.
Furthermore, the courses in the British Open rotation aren’t as long or hilly as their American major counterparts. St. Andrews will certainly be easier on his knee than Augusta or Southern Hills was, or that Brookline would be if he played.
