Despite the injuries, Tiger Woods remains a darkhorse favorite at the Masters simply due to his unparalleled course knowledge. But the sad truth remains that—for the foreseeable future—his chances of winning any future events are largely dependent on his body handling the abuse of walking 7,000+ yard rounds over a 4-day span.
Sadly, unfavorable conditions took their toll, and Tiger will not be making a historic comeback at Augusta this year, as he decided to withdraw early Sunday morning before Round 3 play resumed, citing “injury.”
Due to injury, @TigerWoods has officially withdrawn from the Masters Tournament after completing seven holes of his third round. #themasters
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 9, 2023
Tiger never found a rhythm during the 2023 Masters following an opening 74 (+2) and 73 (+1). The silver lining to the tolerable scoring was that Tiger made history when the cut line moved, and he made his 23rd consecutive cut at the Masters, tying Fred Couples and Gary Player for the longest streak in the tournament’s history.
Saturday’s weather, however, was less than ideal, with low temperatures, rain, and wind. This combination proved to be the straw that broke the camel’s back, as Tiger was spotted hobbling before play was canceled.
That’s a brutal scene to see there pic.twitter.com/8nGWQZRn6j
— TWLEGION (@TWlegion) April 8, 2023
In true Tiger Woods fashion, this unspecified injury could have started earlier in the week, and he simply buried the pain. But after playing six over on 7 holes Saturday (putting Tiger at 9-over before even starting the back-9 for his third round), it became clear that this isn’t the time to force the injury and create additional risk for another unnecessary injury.
Even with today’s significantly improved weather, Tiger would have been looking at playing 28 holes today (as Augusta intends to still have a Sunday finish for the 2023 Masters).
Nobody wants to watch a golf hero struggle, and we can all hope that this isn’t something too serious and doesn’t go down as the moment that Tiger decided it was time to move on from the TOUR. The PGA Championship is only one month away. Hopefully, we’ll see Tiger up and about before then.
Cover Image Via Philadelphia Inquirer
