Tiger Woods has withdrawn from the 2022 PGA Championship after he struggled in his third round, carding his career-worst score at the event.
The PGA Championship announced on Twitter that the 15-time major winner withdrew from the event, after he shot 9-over par 79 at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma in his second major. This comes after an almost 17-month layoff as a result of suffering serious leg injuries in a car crash back in February 2021.
Woods was able to make the cut on Friday by just a single shot, showing glimpses of his excellent prowess to qualify for the weekend.
However, the fatigue of playing 36 holes coupled with his injuries (pain and discomfort in his right foot) appeared to catch up with the 46-year-old under a cool and windy Saturday.
According to CNN:
- "He produced a long putt to save par on his first hole, but had to settle for a bogey on the second.
- Things went from bad to worse on the par three 6th hole with a triple-bogey six, and it was the start of a bad run for Woods.
- Over the next seven holes, he had six bogeys -- including a run of five straight -- before his first birdie of his round on the 15th.
- He managed to narrowly avoid his worst ever score at a major -- 81 at the 2002 Open at Muirfield."
Afterwards, Woods made a frank assessment of his gameplay, saying he "didn't do anything right and didn't hit many good shots."
He added, "I just didn't play well. I didn't hit the ball very well, and got off to not the start I needed to get off to. I thought I hit a good tee shot down two and ended up in the water, and just never really got any kind of momentum on my side."
After the round, Woods did not clearly confirm on whether he'd be completing the major.
He said, "Well, I'm sore. I know that is for a fact. We'll do some work and see how it goes."
Many people on social media were sympathetic and understanding on how Woods' performance turned out.
Tiger Woods had not withdrawn from a tournament since the 2019 Northern Trust.
After almost losing his leg in a car accident in February 2021, Woods has to reassess his game plan. He even admitted that he will be challenged walking golf courses "for the foreseeable future."
Woods played at least 18 tournaments once in the past 17 years. Now, he's focusing on just four.
He said after Friday's round, "I'm not going to be playing a lot of tournaments going forward. They're going to be the biggest tournaments. I want to be able to play the major championships."
2022 PGA Championship winner
Justin Thomas has won the 2022 PGA Championship after a dramatic three-hole playoff against Will Zalatoris. This is his second time to win the Wanamaker Trophy in five years.
Source:
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/05/21/golf/tiger-woods-third-round-2022-pga-championship-spt-intl/index.html
https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/sports/pga/2022/05/21/tiger-woods-left-pga-championship-saturday-not-sure-whether-hell-return-final-round/9803887002/
