Tiger Woods has announced that he will no longer be participating in the PGA Tour’s Genesis Invitational tournament this week, an event he traditionally hosts. Originally, Woods had planned to compete, but he has now decided to withdraw. The tournament, held at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego this year due to wildfire damage at its usual venue, Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, will go ahead without him.
Woods explained his decision on Monday, sharing that the recent loss of his mother, Kultida Woods, had left him still grieving, which affected his readiness to play. “I had planned to participate, but I’m just not prepared,” he wrote in a social media statement. He added that he had tried to prepare, knowing it’s what his mother would have wanted, but he is still processing the emotional toll of her passing. Woods expressed his gratitude for the support he has received and mentioned that he hopes to visit Torrey Pines later in the week.
Tiger Woods has not participated in a full professional golf tournament since last July’s Open Championship, where he missed the cut. In December, at the Hero World Challenge, a tournament he hosts in the Bahamas, Woods admitted that he was not physically prepared and “not sharp enough” to compete at the highest level following his back surgery in September. He acknowledged that his recovery was still ongoing, preventing him from being ready to take on the top golfers on the PGA Tour.
Since then, Tiger Woods has participated in the PNC Championship in December, playing alongside his son, Charlie Woods. He also took part in two matches with his Jupiter Links Golf Club team in the TGL, the virtual golf league he co-founded with investors, including Rory McIlroy.
Woods’ decision to withdraw from The Genesis Invitational came a day after a White House pool report revealed that he and Charlie played a round of golf with former President Donald Trump at Trump International Golf Club in Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday morning. Additionally, the PGA Tour recently released a statement, signed by Woods, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, and golfer Adam Scott, confirming that Monahan and Scott had met with Trump at the White House the previous week to discuss efforts to unify professional golf.
It’s uncertain when Tiger Woods will choose to make his 2025 PGA Tour debut. The upcoming Arnold Palmer Invitational and The PLAYERS Championship next month are potential events for him to return, ahead of The Masters in April.
