Former world No. 1 Tiger Woods has temporarily stepped away from the game of golf.
In a statement posted on his website Wednesday night, Woods announced that he is not currently playing at a competitive level and that he will not return to the PGA tour until such time as he deems suitable.
The last two weeks have been very disappointing to me, especially Torrey, because I never want to withdraw. Unfortunately, lately injuries have made that happen too often.
This latest injury is not related to my previous surgery. I am having daily physical therapy and I am feeling better every day.
Right now, I need a lot of work on my game, and to still spend time with the people that are important to me. My play, and scores, are not acceptable for tournament golf. Like I’ve said, I enter a tournament to compete at the highest level, and when I think I’m ready, I’ll be back. Next week I will practice at Medalist and at home getting ready for the rest of the year. I am committed to getting back to the pinnacle of my game. I’d like to play The Honda Classic — it’s a tournament in my hometown and it’s important to me — but I won’t be there unless my game is tournament-ready. That’s not fair to anyone. I do, however, expect to be playing again very soon.
I want to thank the fans in Phoenix and San Diego. They were amazing. I greatly appreciate everyone’s support.
Tiger’s indefinite leave comes on the heels of an extremely rocky start to 2015 for the 14-time Major champ. His debut at the Phoenix Open ended with a missed cut after shooting an 82 on Friday Jan. 30 — the worst round of his PGA career — and he withdraw prematurely this past weekend at Torrey Pines.
Woods is currently ranked at No. 62, his lowest mark since turning professional in 1996. Tiger has missed significant time recovering from back surgeries in the past few years, and his proclamation that a new, non-back related injury forced this withdrawal makes his odds of returning to winning-form look increasingly slim.