Tiger Woods Won’t Play At THE PLAYERS, Likely Meaning Augusta Is Next For The Big Cat

Tiger Woods did not commit to the PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass next weekend, basically indicating the Masters at Augusta National will be the next tournament he plays in.

Players who planned to compete in next week’s PLAYERS Championship were required to commit to the event by 5 P.M. EST on Friday, March 3. The PGA Tour’s Communications officially released the names of those who would be competing next weekend in the elevated event, and Tiger Woods’ name was not on the list.

Field for THE PLAYERS Championship (March 9-12)

The winners of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and Puerto Rico Open will qualify if not otherwise exempt. pic.twitter.com/WTdWIOwhva

— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) March 3, 2023

In all, 144 players will be present and competing next Thursday, as the Florida swing of the PGA Tour schedule kicked off last week with the Honda Classic and continued this week with the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. TPC Sawgrass’s signature event is one that holds extreme ramifications and can help the winner qualify for numerous exemptions, including:

• Five-year PGA Tour exemption
• Three-year exemption to the Masters
• Three-year exemption to the PGA Championship
• Three-year exemption to the U.S. Open
• Three-year exemption to the Open Championship

However, this PLAYERS Championship will be one of a kind, as the reigning champion will not be in the competing field, as highly-publicized LIV defector Cameron Smith won’t be playing, for obvious reasons. In fact, the course removed Smith’s reserved parking spot, which the champion gets for winning the event, last September following the conclusion of the PGA Tour season, which is when he joined LIV Golf.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Cameron Smith (@cameronsmithgolf)

LIV Players will not be permitted to play in the event, and although Cam Smith is a past champion, and that title is somewhat of a tradition at TPC Sawgrass, he won’t be able to play.

As for Woods, his next event will likely be the Masters, as he already plans to plan all four majors in 2023 despite fighting injuries. In all honesty, it isn’t much of a surprise to see Tiger let his body rest and recover as he prepares for Augusta, where he will always come with the mentality that he can win. Despite having a good showing the first three days at the Genesis Invitational, Woods was dealing with pain from his injuries and stamina issues on Sunday, which undoubtedly contributed to his (still impressive) +2. Woods finished T-45 and -1 on the weekend, and we’ll look forward to seeing him and his shape come April.

Cover Image Via Yahoo Sports