Tiger Woods pulls out of The Open Championship
Tiger Woods has pulled out of the 140th edition of Open Championship, owing to his seemingly eternal knee injury, which he received during the final round of the Masters at Augusta, earlier this year. The Open Championship
is the third major scheduled for the season, which will take place on the Royal St George's Golf Club in England.
The former world number one announced his decision on Tuesday via his official website. He wrote, “I've been advised that I should not play in the British Open. I am only going to come back when I'm 100% ready. I do not want to risk
further injury. That's different for me, but I'm being smarter this time. I'm very disappointed and want to express my regrets to the British Open fans.”
Woods withdrew from the championship on the advice of his physicians, who told him to take rest in order to recover fully. The veteran broke his left Achilles tendon, while taking a shot during the Masters. Despite the injury, the
35-year-old finished fourth in the competition, but could not compete in other tournaments, after that.
As a result, Woods missed the Players Championship, which is considered as the fifth unofficial major on the PGA Tour, and the US Open, which is the second major of the season.
Woods' withdrawal from the tournament was quite expected. The injured golfer had been paying attention to the suggestions of the doctors, which meant that he had been giving priority to his fitness.
However, with this decision, Woods is predicted to fall further down the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR). Presently, the veteran ranks 17th in OWGR, but with the onset of the Open Championship, he will slip out of the
Top-20 players of the world.
Adding further to his statement, Woods said, “I think my best years are still ahead of me, and I'm very confident and optimistic about the future.”
Despite that, Woods has not lost his cool. According to him, he will return for the PGA Championship, which is the final major of the season. Woods will be replaced by Jason Dufner, as Brendan Jones turned down the opportunity to
play because of personal problems.
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