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Time comes for us all, even legends such as Tiger Woods.
Woods has barely been able to complete four rounds of tournament golf, less yet actually compete for victories.
Which means that when Woods tees it up at Pinehurst for the 2024 US Open in June, he’ll have to do so with a special exemption.
See you soon at Pinehurst, Tiger Woods! 🐅 pic.twitter.com/IisBubL6RF
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) May 2, 2024
Woods, unsurprisingly, received a special exemption to compete in the event after failing to qualify via any of the other criteria.
It marks the first time in 27 years, since the 1997 Masters, that he hasn’t been otherwise exempt for a major tournament. His victory at the 2019 Masters gave him a five-year exemption. But that exemption (obviously) expired in April.
Tiger Woods’ Ankle Injury Has Essentially Ended Any Chances Of Winning
Woods has not finished in the top 10 of a golf tournament since the Farmers Insurance Open in January of 2020.
One year later, Woods was part of a brutal one-car accident that shattered his ankle. He hasn’t been anywhere near the same player since.
“He can play the golf. We always knew the question was going to be ‘Can he walk the 72?’ That’s still up in the air,” Woods’ friend and NBC Sports analyst Notah Begay said prior to The Masters. “But can he recover, from one round to the next? That’s the biggest question that I really don’t know and he’s not going to know either until he gets out there and figures out whether the way he’s prepared for this year’s Masters is going to work for him.”
As if to prove his point, Woods showed at The Masters that 72 holes is just more than his body will allow.
He finished the first round inside the top 25, but slowly drifted down the leaderboard and eventually finished at +16, 27 shots behind winner Scottie Scheffler and last of players who made the cut.