Tiger Woods’ return to the golf course will have to wait a little longer. The 15-time major winner announced Monday afternoon that he will not play in the Hero World Challenge, his annual charity tournament in the Bahamas.
“I’m disappointed I won’t be able to compete in the Hero World Challenge this year,” Woods tweeted, “but I always look forward to hosting the tournament and spending a week with @HeroMotoCorp.” Woods noted that Justin Thomas, Jason Day and Nick Dunlap, who won a PGA Tour event as an amateur earlier this year, will join the field.
Woods played in just five events in 2024: the Genesis Invitational, which he withdrew from, and four majors. He finished solo 60th at this year’s Masters and missed the cut at all three subsequent majors.
Woods hasn’t been seen swinging a golf club in months, and in September he underwent another of the many procedures on his back. Microdecompression surgery was intended to relieve nerve pain, though no timeline for recovery has been set.
“The surgery went smoothly and hopefully it will help relieve the back spasms and pain I’ve been experiencing for most of the 2024 season,” Woods said after the surgery in September. “I look forward to this rehabilitation and preparation to return to normal life activities, including golf.”
This year was the first since 2020 that Woods played every available major in a season; suffered a catastrophic car wreck in February 2021. He continues to insist that he wants to play golf as long as he can, despite calls from some segments of the golf world for him to retire.
Woods is helping to develop TGL, an indoor golf league set to begin play in January. He is a member of one of six four-man teams, but has yet to say whether he will play in the league.