Tiger Woods has confirmed he will not play at next week’s US Open, but still plans to compete at the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews next month.
It follows the 15-time major winner’s withdrawal from the US PGA Championship in May after three rounds.
“I will not be competing in the US Open as my body needs more time to get stronger for major championship golf,” Woods, 46, said on Twitter.
However, the event will include players from the LIV Golf Invitational Series.
The US Open begins on 16 June in Brookline, Massachusetts.
Woods added: “I do hope and plan to be ready to play in Ireland at the JP McManus Pro-Am and at The Open next month. I’m excited to get back out there soon.”
The veteran American returned to competition at the Masters in April, 14 months after a serious car crash, from which he had to be “extricated from the wreck” by firefighters and paramedics.
The severity of Woods’ injuries saw him embark on a long road to recovery and initially raised questions over whether he would even be able to compete again at the highest level.
He played his third worst round in a major at the US PGA Championship last month, with a nine-over 79, that left him joint last on 12 over.
He also made five consecutive bogeys for the first time in a major since turning professional in 1996.
On Monday, Woods’ great rival Phil Mickelson was added to the field for the first event in the Greg Norman-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series, which takes place in Hertfordshire and starts on Thursday.
In an interview with the Washington Post, Norman said Woods had been offered a “mind-blowingly enormous” deal to take part in the series.
USGA allows LIV players to compete
Players taking part in the LIV Golf Invitational will be allowed to take part in the US Open, the United States Golf Association (USGA) has ruled.
There had been questions over the issue, as the PGA Tour has threatened sanctions and bans against players signing up for the Saudi-backed LIV Golf series.
However, the majors are not run by the PGA Tour, with the US Open being staged by the USGA.
The USGA said its qualification criteria was set prior to entries opening earlier this year and that it would not be appropriate or fair for those who have earned a spot to change those rules.
It said: “Regarding players who may choose to play in London [at the LIV event] this week, we simply asked ourselves this question – should a player who had earned his way into the 2022 US Open, via our published field criteria, be pulled out of the field as a result of his decision to play in another event?
“And we ultimately decided that they should not.”
Source: BBC