Tiger Woods is taking a temporary leave from the PGA Tour to work on his game, and he says he does not plan to return until he feels he is back on the top of his game.
Woods, who shot a career-worst 82 in the second round of the Phoenix Open and missed the cut, withdrew last weekend at Torrey Pines after 11 holes citing a back injury. He is dissatisfied by his level of play and wrote on his website Wednesday that he plans to take some time off to work on his game.
Here is what Woods posted:
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.
The Honda Classic is in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., in two weeks, so it seems unlikely that Tiger will be ready by then.
There is no shame in Woods’ announcement. Rather, this is just a reminder that he is indeed human and that he has a lot of work to do.
Tiger has 14 career major wins but none since taking the US Open in a playoff in 2008. His current world ranking of No. 62 is the lowest of his career since he turned pro in 1996.
