Tour News

Tiger will not play the Arnold Palmer Invitational

Published

9 years ago

Mar 13, 2015

Tiger Woods says he’s making strides with his golf game, but he will not participate in next week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill.

[quote_box_center]I’ve put in a lot of time and work on my game and I’m making strides, but like I’ve said, I won’t return to the PGA Tour until my game is tournament ready and I can compete at the highest level,” Woods said on his website. “I hope to be ready for the Masters, and I will continue to work hard preparing for Augusta. I want to thank everyone again for their support.”[/quote_box_center]

With the Masters (April 9-12) less than one month away, Woods has just a few opportunities to hone his game before the season’s first major championship.

Woods could choose to play in the PGA Tour’s Valero Texas Open (March 26-29) or Shell Houston Open (April 2-5), if he’s even interested in a pre-Masters tune up. In the past, neither tournament has been part of Woods’ regular schedule.

For most of his career, Woods was considered a threat in every tournament in which he participated, even those that occurred after the golfer took long layoffs from the game. But Woods has not shown the form golf fans once expected of him — particularly after long layoffs — in the last two seasons.

So far this season, Woods has played three events, and he has played badly in all of them. He finished tied for 17th in a 17-man field at the Hero World Challenge in December. Woods then missed the cut at the Waste Management Phoenix Open in early February, and withdrew from the Famers Insurance Open the next week with back pain.

In each tournament, Woods struggled with his ball striking, but what was more troubling was the his erratic short-game play around the greens. Former swing coach, Hank Haney, compared Woods’ short game to that of a handicap golfer, and claimed the 14-time major champion was struggling from the yips.

Woods announced on February 11 that he was taking a leave from the PGA Tour until he felt his game was ready, which it apparently still isn’t.

With so many questions marks — his health, his chipping, the state of his swing with his new swing coach Chris Como — Woods’ statement leaves golf fans wondering exactly what part of his game it is that is keeping him from being “tournament ready.”

And when he is ready to compete, will his game be in a place where he can win again? Woods has not won an event since 2013, a season that saw him win five times on the PGA Tour. Since then, Woods’ best finish in a full-field PGA Tour event came at the 2014 WGC-Cadillac Championship, where he finished tied for 25th.

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Why Dustin Johnson’s victory doesn’t really change anything yet

Zak Kozuchowski

31 Comments

T-MAC

Mar 18, 2015 at 2:17 pm

Tiger has the yips so not only is his short game brutal, his mental game is gone too.
Couple that with the fact that he just isn’t confident with this “new” swing he’s working on (which to me looks like he’s swinging out of his shoes / too fast) and it may be awhile before we see Tiger back on the course, and especially back in the winner’s circle.
Tiger and Phil need to pass the torch to the young guns and the Press needs to start concentrating on the great young talent as well.

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Jim

Mar 18, 2015 at 12:48 pm

Ain’t Karma a boitch?!?

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ND Hickman

Mar 17, 2015 at 10:59 am

Seriously? You’re putting a logo over this story saying “LOL”? What is wrong with this site? We come here for golf news. Not a trashy TMZ knock off for golfers. Show a little bit of class and take this stupid stuff down.

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- Zak Kozuchowski
  
  Mar 17, 2015 at 11:02 am
  
  The logos are generated by our readers’ votes, ND. We think it’s a fun way for our readers to interact with our stories, and also offer feedback at the same time.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - ron
    
    Mar 19, 2015 at 11:26 am
    
    I like the interactive logos but maybe there needs to be some logic in what the voting options are for the stories. Im with Hickman that “lol” doesn’t seem to be a suitable option for the nature of this piece. I’m more suprised that so many people voted that way. I guess people have different senses of humor.
    
    Reply Report comment
  - ND Hickman
    
    Mar 24, 2015 at 7:17 am
    
    Isn’t the reader interaction catered for quite well by the comments section? We can discuss with each other our opinions on the article in question. You guys on the editorial team can jump in and offer your opinions etc. With that being the case, doesn’t this tag voting seem quite superfluous and unnecessary?
    
    Reply Report comment
Rich

Mar 17, 2015 at 12:37 am

+100000000000000000000000000000000000000000

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P-51 Driver

Mar 16, 2015 at 5:51 pm

I don’t normally comment on these things, but thought I would put my two cents in. Golf will survive TW. It may loose a percentage of viewers/ casual players because they don’t have a bandwagon to jump on, but it will survive. If you are a fan of the game of golf, you had to have loved this weekends finish. I’ll take three or four guys fighting for the win each week. I do have my favorites (TW isn’t one of them) and I would love to see them in the hunt each week, but if they aren’t playing well or if they didn’t make the cut, I still watch because I love the game of golf. Just as I watch baseball regardless if my favorite team is playing or not. If the media hyped the great young competitive talent that is out there half as much as they have propped up TW over the last few years, I don’t think we would be having these golf is dead without TW discussions.

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brian

Mar 16, 2015 at 1:27 pm

i am surprised the mods let this racist little comment slide by………

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- Rich
  
  Mar 17, 2015 at 12:41 am
  
  Yes say douche or a&& hole and your comment gets dropped. Make a racist slur and up she goes!
  
  Reply Report comment
- Rich
  
  Mar 17, 2015 at 12:42 am
  
  Wow my last comment made it!
  
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Rich

Mar 15, 2015 at 8:32 am

Racist much?

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Steve

Mar 14, 2015 at 9:42 pm

He’s not playing the Masters either.

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John Daly

Mar 14, 2015 at 2:46 pm

Hey guys, let me tell you something – only Tiger’s fans are giving him a break. Tiger says his glutes hurt and aren’t firing. Man, my glutes are surrounded by so much fat they can’t fire, but I’m still playing every chance I’m given. C’mon Tiger, your problem is not with your glutes – your problem is between your ears and you know it, but you refuse to admit it. Be truthful about it. You aren’t fooling anybody inside the ropes. What a joke! @PGA_JohnDaly

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MRC

Mar 14, 2015 at 11:46 am

Tough game. Have no idea what Tiger must be feeling and thinking right now. Good luck and hope he works it out.

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Shane

Mar 14, 2015 at 10:32 am

If indeed it is a physical issue then Heres to a speedy recovery, but beyond that who cares anymore! They’ll talk about him long after he leaves the game but I like many more folks long for the day when TV wakes up to realize there’s golf after TW!! Let’s move on please!!

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- random dude
  
  Mar 15, 2015 at 2:08 am
  
  Unless someone steps-up and starts dominating like Tiger did, no, golf will not move on. We’ll be subject to week after week of some no-name tour guy pulling off a win in a two hole playoff or winning by one stroke. Rory doesn’t have the discipline to be consistent. Phil is done. The only hope we have is DJ coming back and sh-ting on everyone that talked about his leave. It’ll be sad day for the golf industry when TW finally does make the curtain call… everyone will hurt a little.
  
  Reply Report comment
Doc

Mar 13, 2015 at 7:09 pm

nobody cares

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robrey85

Mar 13, 2015 at 6:17 pm

Who?

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farmer

Mar 13, 2015 at 5:44 pm

Skipping one of his favorite tournaments is testament to the state of his game. He must be fearing embarrassment more than being unable to compete.

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mo

Mar 13, 2015 at 5:10 pm

Something is seriously wrong for TW to miss Arnold’s event-a course he knows extremely well and has usually played well on.

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Scott

Mar 13, 2015 at 4:43 pm

Still suspended, I suppose

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RG

Mar 13, 2015 at 4:23 pm

There is nothing wrong with Tiger’s swing mechanics except tempo. When I saw him live his eyes told the whole story.. he’s scared. Everything else is a cover up for the fact that he has lost all confidence in what he’s doing and in what he thought he knew about the game of golf. he never experienced fear in his youth and unless he learns to cope with it in adulthood he will only get worse.

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- Kyle
  
  Mar 13, 2015 at 6:12 pm
  
  So you know tiger personally?.. That’s an awful lot to take from seeing someone play golf..
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Philip
    
    Mar 13, 2015 at 9:45 pm
    
    Not really. Not if he really did get a few good looks at his eyes. Ever hear of the expression “he had fear in his eyes”? Fear is quite visible in someones eyes. Of course, I wasn’t there, but even from the videos I’ve seen, Tiger often has a lost look in his eyes – like he doesn’t have a clue as to why his drive peeled off or why he just bladed a chip. Most of us know those feelings quite well, but for someone who had such control over their game … can’t imagine the thoughts going through his head each time he duffs it in front of the world and not just three golfing pals.
    
    Reply Report comment
    - RG
      
      Mar 14, 2015 at 12:04 am
      
      Very astute Phillip. it was at Isleworth (Hero World Challenge). I have seen Tiger up close on several occasions going back to the 90’s. I’m in Orlando so I have been to Bay Hill, Disney and Tavistock Cup at Isleworth and have been fortunate enough to see Tiger close up multiple times through the years.
      Things that you can really pick up on when watching a player live, as opposed to television, is demeanor and their eyes. In years past Tiger’s body language was so smooth, he seemed to glide around the course, and his eyes moved slowly and with precision. At Isleworth that was gone.
      His body language and demeanor seemed labored and some what fidgety. But moreover were his eyes. Gone was that icy glare and intense focus. They fluttered about and he looked, well, scared. Tiger’s rhythm in his routine used to be flawless. Now he hesitates and looks stressed. He squeezes the club and then tries to relax his grip ( judging from his forearm flex) and he has fear in his eyes.
      I could tell you they flutter about when they used to be steady, or try to describe the physical motion some other way, but if you have ever seen the look of fear you know it is clear up close. Whatever that is, Tiger has it, and until he get’s past it forget about swing mechanics and glutes firing he has lost and is lost.
      
      Reply Report comment
      - JHM
        
        Mar 15, 2015 at 9:14 am
        
        from watching on tv we have heard several times that Tiger was striping it in the range that morning, but now can’t take it to the course. makes sense
        
        Reply Report comment
Tom V

Mar 13, 2015 at 4:20 pm

Tiger says that he won’t play on tour again until his game is ready. He has an excellent chance to return…and miss the cut. Tiger Woods is history in both game and mind, and he will unlikely ever win another tournament.

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Kevin

Mar 13, 2015 at 4:01 pm

Would be very interesting if this time off to hone his game that he is taking ended up being about six months…

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other paul

Mar 13, 2015 at 3:29 pm

Come on Tiger! I want to cheer for you at the masters!

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- Rich
  
  Mar 13, 2015 at 6:43 pm
  
  Pick another horse to back mate.
  
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