Tiger Woods has withdrawn from the 2022 PGA Championship after three rounds. Woods’ decision came Saturday night after he carded a 9-over 79, his worst round ever at the PGA Championship and fifth-worst round at any PGA Tour event in his career.
Woods, playing just his second event after a car wreck in February 2021 led to serious leg injuries, opened with a 4-over 74 on Thursday before bouncing back with a 1-under 69 on Friday to make the cut. His 79 was laborious with Tiger registering a triple bogey, seven bogeys and just one birdie on the afternoon. He would have been tied for last place entering Sunday’s final round.
“Well, I’m sore. I know that for a fact,” Woods said Saturday when asked if he was healthy enough to complete the remaining 18 holes at the PGA Championship. “We’ll do some work and see how it goes.”
Since returning to professional golf at the 2022 Masters, it has been noticeably difficult for Tiger to walk the courses. His surgically-repaired leg is able to maintain enough strength to get him into the weekend — he also made the cut at the Masters — but it is clearly failing him over the latter half of tournaments. Woods has frequently used a club as a cane while walking between shots.
Like at the Masters in April, Tiger did just enough to make the weekend before his body gave out on him and he ultimately fell apart at Southern Hills. Woods followed a respectable first 36 holes with 6-over 78s in his third and fourth rounds at Augusta National, his worst scores ever at the Masters.
“He grinds through everything, and he pushes himself through all the pain. It’s not easy to see a guy like that go through that and struggle with that,” said Shaun Norris, Woods’ playing partner Saturday. “To show the amount of guts he’s got, to actually push through and even make the cut this week, is phenomenal.”
This withdrawal is Tiger’s first at a major championship since he exited early from the 1995 U.S. Open as an amateur. He had never previously withdrawn from a major as a professional. Woods’ last withdrawal from any event came ahead of the second round of the 2019 Northern Trust.
“We admire Tiger’s valiant effort to compete here at Southern Hills and wish him the best as he continues to recover from his injuries,” said PGA of America president Jim Richerson.
