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Three time U.S. Open winner Tiger Woods has announced he will not play in the event this year as he continues to rehab from a surgery he had earlier this year.
Tiger Woods missed the 2023 PGA Championship while rehabbing from surgery, and now he will miss the U.S. Open in June. When the USGA announced its field for the third major of the year, Woods was not among the 84 players listed, per ESPN’s report.
The three-time U.S. Open winner was expected to try and play in this event, but it seems he is still working on getting back from his latest surgery in April. This procedure targeted post-traumatic arthritis in his right ankle from his horrific car crash in February 2021. The last time the world saw Woods in action was at the Masters in Augusta this past April. After just making the cut, he was forced to withdraw prior to his final round.
After that event, Woods had his surgery, and the timetable for his return was uncertain.
Some thought he would try and push for the U.S. Open, but that doesn’t seem like the case. It remains to be seen if he will be healthy enough to play at the Open Championship at Royal Liverpool July 20-23 since that would be the most manageable walk among all four majors. Right now, it seems unlikely that he will play in that final major, but only time will tell that happens.
The U.S. Open field is not complete, as there are 10 final qualifiers set to be held. Those qualifiers started the week of May 22. Once those happen, the winners will complete the field for the 123rd U.S. Open.
Sergio Garcia qualified in Dallas, where he was one of eight golfers to get into this third major. He wasn’t eligible for the PGA Championship, missing his first major since he was a rookie in 1999. The USGA also announced that 33 additional golfers earned an exemption into the event on May 22, per ESPN.