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 The former world number one has been sidelined from competitive
golf since late March after requiring treatment for a pinched nerve
in his back that had troubled him for months, and was unable to
compete at the Masters in April.
"Unfortunately, I won't be there because I'm not yet physically able
to play competitive golf," Woods said in a statement on his website
on Wednesday, referring to the June 12-15 U.S. Open.
"The U.S. Open is very important to me, and I know it's going to be
a great week. Despite missing the first two majors (this year), and
several other important tournaments, I remain very optimistic about
this year and my future."
This will be the sixth major championship missed by Woods due to
injury, and he remains stuck on his career tally of 14 wins, having
not clinched one of golf's blue riband events since the 2008 U.S.
Open at Torrey Pines.
Woods has not set a timetable for his likely return and could
possibly also miss the year's third major, the July 17-20 British
Open at Royal Liverpool in Hoylake, England.
The 38-year-old American has been increasingly plagued by injuries
in recent seasons as the wear and tear of years on the tour have
begun to take a toll.
He failed to finish the PGA Tour's Honda Classic at Palm Beach
Gardens in early March, quitting after 13 holes in his final round.
The American then tweaked his back again on the last day of the
WGC-Cadillac Championship in Miami just one week later.
OPTED FOR SURGERY
Woods pulled out of the Mar. 20-23 Arnold Palmer Invitational, a key
lead-up tournament he has won eight times, in the hope that he could
play at the Masters before he opted to undergo surgery on March 31.
He said he risked further injury had he kept playing because of the
repetitive motion from golf but that there should be no long-lasting
effects from the surgery.
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"It's just because the nature of injuries that I've had before in
the past," Woods said earlier this year. "I've had knees and
Achilles (injuries) and I've been through that. And I could play
through those.
"But this one, I just can't do it. Back injuries are no joke. When
people say they've felt debilitated when their back hurts, I
understand what that feels like."
Woods' lengthy history of injury began with a troublesome left knee,
first operated on when he was a freshman at Stanford University in
1994. Three more operations on that knee have followed.
He has also suffered injuries to his ankle and neck, his right and
left Achilles tendons and fractures in his leg, which he defiantly
played through on the way to victory at the 2008 U.S. Open after a
19-hole playoff against Rocco Mediate.
Woods has missed two British Opens, one U.S. Open, one Masters and
one PGA Championship since 2008 because of injuries, and will now
add to that number next month.
He is a three-time winner of the year's second major, having
triumphed at the U.S. Open in 2000, 2002 and 2008.
(Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Frank
Pingue)
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