Tiger is to miss the 2016 Masters

Tiger Woods has confirmed his absence from Augusta this year

There will be no final-day Tiger red at Augusta this year
(Image credit: Getty Images)

It was never really 'will he, won't he' but an announcement on his website on April 1 confirmed that Tiger is to miss the 2016 Masters

This is probably not really news to many golf fans, but a post on his website on April 1 (no April Fool’s wind-up, this one!) has confirmed that Tiger is to miss the 2016 Masters, and will not be teeing it up in a bid for a fifth Green Jacket this coming Thursday at Augusta National.

Despite video clips of him hitting a few balls on social media channels recently – albeit somewhat tentatively in the eyes of many – there was little word out there in the public domain to make anyone really believe that a return to the course was likely any time soon, least of all for the season’s opening Major.

"After assessing the present condition of my back, and consulting with my medical team, I've decided it's prudent to miss this year's Masters," Tiger confirmed on his website. "I've been hitting balls and training daily, but I'm not physically ready. I've said all along that this time I need to be cautious and do what's best for my long-term health and career.

"Unfortunately, playing Augusta next week wouldn't be the right decision. I'm absolutely making progress, and I'm really happy with how far I've come, but I still have no timetable to return to competitive golf.”

This will be just the second time Tiger has missed The Masters since making his debut as an amateur in 1995, but worryingly, both absences from golf’s curtain-raising Major have come in the last three years, with Tiger also sitting out the 2014 staging on doctors’ advice following back surgery.

Woods has not now played competitively since last August’s Wyndham Championship where he started brightly and went on to record his only Top 10 of the season, but going forwards the only golf etched in his diary with any certainty is September’s Ryder Cup at Hazeltine where he will join Davis Love’s vice-captaincy team.

 

 

 

 

Jeremy Ellwood
Contributing Editor

Jeremy Ellwood has worked in the golf industry since 1993 and for Golf Monthly since 2002 when he started out as equipment editor. He is now a freelance journalist writing mainly for Golf Monthly. He is an expert on the Rules of Golf having qualified through an R&A course to become a golf referee. He is a senior panelist for Golf Monthly's Top 100 UK & Ireland Course Rankings and has played all of the Top 100 plus 91 of the Next 100, making him well-qualified when it comes to assessing and comparing our premier golf courses. He has now played 1,000 golf courses worldwide in 35 countries, from the humblest of nine-holers in the Scottish Highlands to the very grandest of international golf resorts. He reached the 1,000 mark on his 60th birthday in October 2023 on Vale do Lobo's Ocean course. Put him on a links course anywhere and he will be blissfully content.

Jezz can be contacted via Twitter - @JezzEllwoodGolf


Jeremy is currently playing...

Driver: Ping G425 LST 10.5˚ (draw setting), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 55 S shaft

3 wood: Ping G425 Max 15˚ (set to flat +1), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 65 S shaft

Hybrid: Ping G425 17˚, Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro Orange 80 S shaft

Irons 3-PW: Ping i525, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts

Wedges: Ping Glide 4.0 50˚ and 54˚, 12˚ bounce, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts

Putter: Ping Fetch 2021 model, 33in shaft (set flat 2)

Ball: Varies but mostly now TaylorMade Tour Response