Tiger Woods officially won’t have a chance to compete for the British Open title.
Woods won’t participate next month at Royal Liverpool, with a spokesperson from R&A — the Open Championship organizers — telling Sports Illustrated in a statement, “We have been advised that Tiger will not be playing at Royal Liverpool.
“We wish him all the best with his recovery.”
It’ll mark the third consecutive major that Woods has missed since withdrawing from the final day of the Masters on April 9.
He also missed the PGA Championship in May, as well as the ongoing US Open this weekend in Los Angeles
The 47-year-old’s timeline toward a possible return to any golf action remains unclear.
When Woods withdrew from the Masters, he avoided having to play 29 holes that Sunday — the result of suspended play the day prior due to weather — and didn’t compete after struggling to walk while on the course Saturday, with the right foot appearing to cause the difficulty.
Woods underwent surgery on his right ankle about two weeks later — a “subtalar fusion procedure to address his post-traumatic arthritis from his previous talus fracture,” according to a statement he posted on Twitter.
“He has determined the surgery to be successful,” the statement said. “Tiger is currently recovering and looks forward to beginning his rehabilitation.”
His agent, Mark Steinberg, later told the Associated Press in an interview that there was “no timetable” for Woods to return to golf, adding that a more enjoyable day-to-day lifestyle was the 15-time major champion’s first priority.
That made his absences at the PGA Championship and US Open — as well as the British Open, which will be held July 20-23 — predictable, becoming the latest missed tournaments following his horrifying accident in 2021.
During that time, Woods also became the subject of litigation filed by ex-girlfriend Erica Herman over non-disclosure agreements that she wanted nullified due to claims of sexual harassment.
Woods won the British Open in 2000 and 2005 at St. Andrews and in 2006 at the Royal Liverpool course, where Cameron Smith will attempt to defend his Open Championship title that he claimed at St. Andrews in 2022.