Tiger Woods, the five-time Masters champion, has announced his withdrawal from the Augusta Masters due to injury. The 47-year-old American completed only seven holes of his third round, limping through the course on six over par before play was called off due to bad weather in Augusta, Georgia. Woods, who was the last of 54 players to make the cut, has struggled since a car crash in 2021 that resulted in multiple leg injuries requiring major surgery.
Woods most recently won the Masters in 2019, but his performance this year was hampered by plantar fasciitis, a tissue inflammation that causes pain in the heel. Despite squeaking inside the cut to tie with Gary Player and Fred Couples for the most consecutive times playing the weekend at the Masters (23), Woods was visibly limping and made back-to-back double bogeys in unforgiving conditions on a cold Saturday with heavy rain falling.
The 15-times major champion has made only one competitive appearance this season and stated this week that he does not play many tournaments anymore as he is “limited” in what he can do. Last year, in his second start after the crash, Woods withdrew from the PGA Championship after carding one of his worst rounds at a major tournament – a nine-over-par 79.
On Sunday, Woods took to Twitter to express his disappointment at having to withdraw from the tournament: “I am disappointed to have to WD [withdraw] this morning due to reaggravating my plantar fasciitis,” he said. “Thank you to the fans and to The Masters who have shown me so much love and support. Good luck to the players today!”
As Woods’ withdrawal leaves the tournament without one of its biggest names, American Brooks Koepka leads Spaniard Jon Rahm by four shots with the third round of the Masters yet to be completed.