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Why is Tiger Woods not playing the 2023 PGA Championship?

By Cody Williams

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 07: Tiger Woods of the United States reacts to his shot from the fourth tee during the second round of the 2023 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 07, 2023 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 07: Tiger Woods of the United States reacts to his shot from the fourth tee during the second round of the 2023 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 07, 2023 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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Tiger Woods is not playing the 2023 PGA Championship, but why is the 15-time major champion not teeing it up at Oak Hill Country Club?

The Masters is the only major championship at which Tiger Woods has more victories than at the PGA Championship. With wins at Medinah in both 1999 and 2006 in addition to victories at Valhalla (2000) and Southern Hills (2007), he has four career wins at this major, which is now the second on the golf calendar.

Coming into the 2023 season, though, the now-47-year-old Woods made it clear he planned to play a limited schedule, but one that included all four majors, obviously the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club being a part of that.

Now that PGA Championship week is here in Rochester, NY, though, Tiger Woods is not playing at Oak Hill. And that has golf fans wondering why the 82-time PGA Tour winner isn’t in the field.

Why is Tiger Woods missing the 2023 PGA Championship?

After Tiger Woods withdrew from a cold, rainy, weather-delayed weekend at Augusta, it was clear that his injuries and ailments stemming from his 2021 car accident were getting the better of them. And that leads us to why he’s not at Oak Hill.

On April 19, Woods announced in a statement on social media that he underwent surgery on his ankle to help to repair an arthritic condition that resulted from a previous fracture.

In that statement, Tiger made it clear that he didn’t know when he’d be able to return but, even at the time, only getting a month to rehabilitate after surgery before the 2023 PGA Championship seemed more than a little ambitious. Indeed, it was as his recovery from surgery is the reason he won’t be playing in the second major championship of 2023.

Whether or not Tiger Woods will return in June for the U.S. Open at LA Country Club or The Open Championship at Hoylake in July remains to be seen. But we do know for certain that the 2023 PGA Championship will not feature the Big Cat.

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