Tiger Woods' Open absence explained as he makes decision to skip Royal Liverpool

20 July 2023 , 09:32

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Tiger Woods is not at this year's Open (Image: Getty Images)

The best golfers in the world are back on British soil this week, as Royal Liverpool plays host to the 151st Open Championship.

The likes of Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith are all battling it out on the links to get their hands on the famous Claret Jug, but there is one big name missing from the field. That name is Tiger Woods, with the three-time Open winner not in this week's field.

Woods has a long history with the famous event, and with this week's course. The 47-year-old won one of his third Open title at Hoylake, which came in 2006, where he saw off Chris DiMarco and Ernie Els to defend the title he had won a year earlier at St Andrews.

17 years on though, the 15-time major champion is not in this year's field on the Wirral as he continues to battle fitness issues.

Why is Tiger Woods not playing at The Open?

Woods is absent from this year's Open field due an ankle problem that flared up at this year's Masters Tournament. Woods has been forced to play a part-time schedule over the past year, having suffered severe injuries in a car accident in February 2021.

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Following the high-speed crash, there were fears that Woods would never play again but he returned in 2022 to compete at last year's Masters. He then competed at the PGA Championship a month later, but was forced to withdraw due to injury.

He returned two months later at the 150th Open at St Andrews, but again was in a battle with his body and went on to miss the cut. After seven months away, Woods then made his return to the PGA Tour at this year's Genesis Invitational, before heading to Augusta a few weeks later.

Once again though it was a case of Woods' fitness issues getting the better of him, as he was forced to withdraw. Gruelling conditions around Augusta made things even harder for the 82-time PGA Tour champion, leaving him with no option but to pull out during a weather-affected third round.

Tiger Woods was forced to withdraw from The Masters (Getty Images)

Woods later revealed he was suffering from an issue in his foot and ankle, which he later received surgery for. In an update to fans in April, a social media statement read: "Earlier today, Tiger underwent a subtalar procedure to address his post-traumatic arthritis from his previous talus fracture.

"It was performed by Dr Martin O’Malley at HSS Sports Medicine Institute in New York City. He has determined the surgery to be successful. Tiger is currently recovering and looks forward to beginning his rehabilitation."

Joshua Lees