Tiger Woods May 21, 2022; Tulsa, OK, USA; Tiger Woods looks on from the second tee during the third round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at Southern Hills Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

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 On Saturday evening, it was announced that Woods had withdrawn from the tournament.

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.

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.

[PGA Championship]

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