Tiger Woods dropped out of the US Open and points to the British Open

Tiger Woods withdrew from the US Open this Tuesday when explaining that his battered right leg needs more time to gain strength and be able to compete in the majors. The contest will be played from Thursday the 16th to Sunday the 19th of this month at the Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, and its defection occurs in the midst of the deep crack that opened in golf due to the creation of the LIV Golf Invitational Series , ready to compete on the calendar with the PGA Tour and that will start this Thursday.

Woods surprised by reappearing in the last Augusta Masters, just 14 months after suffering fractures to his right leg and ankle in a car accident in February 2021 outside Los Angeles. The Californian managed to avoid the cut at Augusta National, where he did not have a good weekend, and then took part in the PGA Championship in Tulsa, Oklahoma, There, too, he made the cut, but limped off Saturday’s course and retired after the third round at the Southern Hills course. It was the first time that he had to leave during the weekend of one of the great golf events.

“My body needs more time to be strong for a golf championship,” Woods said on his social networks. He indicated that confident that he will be fit to play in a charity tournament in Ireland ahead of the British Open in St. Andrews, venue where he won two of his three titles in the contest. This is the sixth time in the last 12 years that Woods has missed a US Open, an appointment he has won three times. His last consecration was at the Torrey Pines course in 2008, when he suffered a double fracture in his left leg and damage to the ligaments in his knee, requiring surgery after the tournament.

His last US Open was in 2020 at Winged Foot and he did not make the cut. Leading up to the last two majors, Woods created a stir when online platforms that track private aircraft said he was at Augusta National and Southern Hills a week early to familiarize himself with the courses, anticipating his participation. But no such flight to Boston was detected this time. The last time Woods competed at the Brookline Country Club was in 1999 and he emerged victorious in a singles duel against Andrew Coltart as part of a memorable comeback for Team USA to win the Ryder Cup.

“We are disappointed that we will not be able to see him in Boston,” said Mike Whan, the executive director of the USGA, the American golf association. “But personally, I’m happy that she’s looking out for his health. I’d rather have Tiger for the long haul than just at the 2022 US Open.” The truth is that Woods always had his sights set on going to St. Andrews, even after playing in the Masters. After his participation in Augusta, he expressed ambivalence about competing in the PGA Championship or the US Open, but that he would be in the British Open. It just so happens that the Old Course is a very flat course, the easiest of the four majors to walk.