Woods, who had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee April 15, was hopeful of playing before the U.S. Open. But his office notified the PGA Tour that he would not enter the Memorial, a tour official said.
This is the second time in three years that Woods has had a two-month layoff before a major championship. He missed nine weeks in 2006 while coping with the death of his father, returning to the U.S. Open at Winged Foot and missing the cut for the only time in a major.
"Tiger was looking forward to playing at the Memorial," said Mark Steinberg, his agent at IMG. "But unfortunately, the timing of his recovery will not allow him to do so."
The only other tournament before the U.S. Open is the Stanford St. Jude Classic in Memphis, Tenn., although Woods never has played the week before a U.S. Open and has never played in Memphis.
Speaking last week to promote the BMW Championship, Woods said the layoff with his knee surgery and missing time after his father died were completely different situations.
"Even when I came back for the Open, I probably wasn't ready to play yet," he said. "I was eager to get back and play and be in a competitive environment, but I wasn't ready to deal with all the things you have to deal with inside the ropes and compete and play, and it showed. And I played terrible. This time around, it's totally different.
"I'm just trying to get the leg organized enough to where I can play."
Memorial officials were making travel arrangements for Woods into Friday afternoon, still uncertain if he would play. Along with missing Woods, they learned at the 5 p.m. deadline that Adam Scott had changed his mind and would not play.
The tournament, which starts Thursday at Muirfield Village, still has eight of the top 10 in the world rankings.
