Tiger Woods plans appear to change as The Players Championship field confirmed

09 March 2024 , 00:14

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Tiger Woods will not play in The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass (Image: Getty Images)

Tiger Woods will not play in The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass later this month. Many anticipated the golf legend would play in the 50th edition of the prestigious tournament with The Masters just a month away.

Woods, a two-time winner of the event in 2001 and 2013, indicated in December his intentions to play one tournament a month as he mounts another comeback and manages ongoing ankle and back problems. He was forced to withdraw from the Genesis Invitational last month after just 24 holes due to illness.

The Players Championship seemed the obvious choice for him to return, especially after he decided against playing in the Arnold Palmer Invitational taking place this week. Woods mentioned the tournament directly when discussing his potential 2024 schedule back in December and his former Team USA Ryder Cup teammate, Steve Stricker, also appeared to indicate Woods was planning to be at Sawgrass just this week.

In an interview with Golf Digest where he discussed the prospect of trying to get Woods to play in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, Stricker said: "You know, I’ll see him next week at the Players, hopefully he’ll be there and I’ll be there, hopefully play a practice round with him. Yeah, I’ll ask him."

However, those plans appear to have changed with Woods being noticeably absent from the 144-player field for the upcoming tournament, which gets underway on Thursday, March 14 and carries a huge $25 million purse. Woods' next chance to return to action and get some competitive action before The Masters would be the much more low-key Valspar Championship the following week.

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The Houston Open and Valero Texas Open also take place on the PGA Tour before the first major of the year gets underway at Augusta on April 11. Woods, who did return to the course in the Seminole Pro-Member earlier this week, detailed his intentions to play only majors and occasional big events when speaking at the end of 2023, while name-dropping The Players Championship as potentially of interest.

“I think that the best scenario would be maybe a tournament a month. I think that's realistic,” Woods said ahead of his comeback in the Bahamas in December. "You would have to start with maybe at Genesis and then something in March near the Players.

Tiger Woods plans appear to change as The Players Championship field confirmed

Woods saw his return at the Genesis Invitational cut short due to illness (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

"Again, we have it set up right now the biggest events are one per month. It sets itself up for that. Now, I need to get myself ready for all that. I think this week is a big step in that direction."

After completing all 72 holes at the Hero World Challenge, the first tournament he completed in 10 months since injuring his ankle at The Masters last April, Woods had a positive update for his fans, reiterating his intention to play every month after the New Year. Quizzed on whether he would stick to his pre-tournament claims, he responded: "Yeah. I think that I can get into the rhythm of it.

"I think that having a couple of weeks off to recover, a week to build up, there's no reason why I can't get into that rhythm. It's just a matter of getting in better shape basically. I feel like my game's not that faroff, but I need to get in better shape."

The Players Championship field still has plenty of star power without Woods. Scottie Scheffler will look to defend his title while other previous winners include Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler.