UH-OH: Tiger to Skip Players Championship

A few weeks ago, Tiger Woods finished last among the players who made the cut at the Genesis Invitational where he was the host. Not only did Tiger opt to skip the WGC event in Mexico the following weekend, but he passed on the Arnold Palmer invitational this weekend. At first, I wasn’t concerned as it is still early in the year and with his back history, I figured he was playing it safe. In more recent news, Tiger is set to skip the Players Championship.

More on #Tiger skipping the Players… Now Valspar is on the clock.https://t.co/Y9d7g1eu1I

— Bob Harig (@BobHarig) March 6, 2020

I typically like to be optimistic on these things, but given that the Masters (where he is the returning champion) is only a month away, I wonder how likely he is to even play in the event. We know he will be there and he will have more than a million reporters asking him about his back and health. However, the fact remains that he is currently running out of time to get prepared to compete at a high level.

Under-preparing versus over-preparing is such a fine line for Tiger. Playing too much has shown to fatigue him, playing too little has hurt his putting and ability to realistically compete. We already knew he was out for this weekend and now next weekend, leaving him with four events before the masters. However, after looking at the schedule, I really think he’s only got 3. He has the Valspar Championship in Palm Harbor, Florida, the WGC Match Play in Austin, Texas, and the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio. I doubt he’s going to travel to Punta Cana for the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship, leaving him with one less opportunity. I also doubt he will want to waste any energy the week before the masters, outing the Valero Texas Open. Thus leaving Tiger with the Valspar and the WGC Match Play.

Ready and rarin’ to go for Match Play. pic.twitter.com/tGed9eg0Pf

— WGC-Dell Match Play (@DellMatchPlay) February 29, 2020

Those events are back-to-back weeks, and if I had to bet, based on what has happened this season and with him pulling out of the Players, I don’t expect to see him play any tournament beyond the WGC. WGC events are limited fields and he will get to compete with less strain on his body. He won’t have to play 18 holes every day. The warmer weather should help and then he will have three more weeks to rest before the Masters. Now I don’t have any inside knowledge and this is just an educated guess, but considering he has skipped the Arnold Palmer event again (where he has dominated in the past) and the Players event, my hand is moving a little closer to that panic button.

Cover Image Via Twitter