The deadline to sign up for next week's Honda Classic is Friday at 5 p.m. ET. Many were wondering if Tiger Woods would make his return to the PGA Tour for that tournament because it's close to his hometown of Jupiter, Fla., but his agent cleared the air on the matter on Thursday.
Woods announced on Feb. 11 that he would not be returning to the PGA Tour until his game was "tournament-ready." After starting off 2015 by missing the cut at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and withdrawing because of a back injury at the Farmers Insurance Open, Woods said his play and scores were "not acceptable for tournament golf."
And he continues to believe that.
Honda Classic executive director Ken Kennerly told Bob Harig of ESPN that he got a call from Woods' agent, Mark Steinberg, on Thursday afternoon to let it be known that Tiger would not be playing in the event.
"He doesn't look at this with any time deadline right now," Steinberg told Harig. "Does he expect to be at the Masters? Yes, of course. But that doesn't mean that is where he expects to debut. He just doesn't know where. I think Tiger would tell you he'd be shocked if he wasn't at the Masters."
"He's working hard on his game, but as the statement said last week very candidly, he'll be back when he feels like he's game-ready and can compete at a high level. He's only been at it here for 3½ days. It's not there yet. I don't think that's a shock."
Woods withdrew from his last PGA tournament because of a back injury that he said was unrelated to the surgery he underwent last March to repair a pinched nerve. He noted he was receiving physical therapy on a daily basis and feeling better, but his health has been a concern for quite a while and it's unknown if he'll ever get back to full strength. He called it quits at the end of last season to focus on his physical health and get back into shape, but the woes keep persisting.
With Woods' absence from the Honda Classic next week, the earliest he can return will be on March 12 at the Valspar Championship because he is not eligible for the WGC-Cadillac Championship, which takes place from March 5-8.
