Since withdrawing from the Masters in April due to an ankle injury, Tiger Woods has not participated in competitions and has continued to decline in the world rankings.
With the most recent update to the world ranking list, Tiger Woods, an 82-time winner of the PGA Tour, is ranked 1,307th, his lowest position ever in the Official World Golf Rankings.
Woods’s previous low was 1,294th, which he attained in February. That same month, he made his eagerly anticipated comeback to competition by competing in the Genesis Invitational, his first tournament since the 150th Open at St Andrews eight months prior. In less than two months, Woods made a second appearance at the Masters.
The 15-time major champion, however, had to miss out on the first flagship event of the season in the third round because of an ankle injury, capping another week marred by injury concerns.
Since then, Woods has not been able to make a comeback to the game after taking yet another extended hiatus to facilitate his recuperation. Following severe injuries to his right leg sustained in a car accident in Los Angeles in February 2021 that changed his life, the 47-year-old has had to put up with a career that has come and gone in recent years.
Woods has only made five appearances on the PGA Tour since the collision, with two of those appearances coming from withdrawals due to health issues. Before dropping to a career-low ranking, the 2019 Masters champion gave a startling update on his level of fitness.
“My ankle is fine,” he stated. I don’t have any problems at all where they fused my ankle. That hurt has totally disappeared. The other areas have received compensation. But all of my issues, both past and present, stemmed from the surrounding areas.
“If you fix one, others will have to move more quickly to get around it, which could cause problems.” The announcement coincided with mounting optimism that the 47-year-old’scomebackto competitive golf may not be far off, given several clues that suggested otherwise.
Woods has been no stranger to the golf course over the past two months, making appearance at Liberty National, Pebble Beach and El Cardonal at Diamante. The joint most succesful PGA Tour player of all time was also spotted caddying for his son Charlie at a junior event last week, as he walked all 54 holes with his son’s bag on his back.
There were hopes his return could come as soon as the end of this month, when Woods hosts the annual Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas. The 20-man field for the event was released by the PGA Tour last month, but only 19 of the 20 entered players were confirmed.
The 20th and final spot was left vacant and marked ‘TBA Tournament Exemption’, prompting many to believe that Woods will be the man filling the empty place if fit enough. Golf fans will be able to watch the American in January though, with Woods committed to competing in his soon-to-be-launched innovative golf league, TGL, after announcing he would be playing for Jupiter Golf Links late last week.
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