Tiger Woods has announced that he will miss the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in Orlando next week. Since the start of the year, Tiger Woods has made a lot of news in the golfing world. First was his announcement that following the fall of Nike Golf he would switch club manufacturer before finally settling on TaylorMade. A number of other endorsements were also signed. Then came his long awaited return to competitive golf.
Tiger's year so far
That return has been far from impressive as he missed the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open and then withdrew from the Dubai Desert Classic back in February due to a reoccurrence of his back injury. Now Tiger Woods has announced that he will also miss the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
He also made it clear that there is no timetable for his return to golf.
On his website, Woods highlighted his ongoing rehabilitation for his back injury as the key reason for his latest withdrawal. He also stated that he has "No timetable" for his return to competitive golf but that his treatment is going well. The news will come as no surprise to those that saw him withdraw from the Dubai Desert Classic and many will now be wondering if his comeback was premature. One thing is for sure, the world wants to see Tiger Woods at his best rather than the shadow of the player he has recently become.
Augusta now in doubt
The news will come as a major blow to those who are eager to see Woods return. It also now placed doubt as to whether he will make an appearance at the Masters in April at Augusta.
Four of his fourteen major victories have come at The Masters including his very first major championship back in 1997. His last success at The Masters came in 2005 following a playoff victory over Chris DiMarco.
The 2017 Masters was also of high significance for Tiger Woods as it would be the 20th Anniversary of his first major triumph. However, Woods has recently written a book due out in April, outlining his experiences of the first time he won the green jacket.
