Tiger Woods will not be playing at this week’s WM Phoenix Open. It is a disappointment for fans, but given his recent relationship with injuries, it is best for him to pick and choose tournaments now.
Woods met with a severe accident in 2021 that kept him off the golf course for a long period. Since recovering from injuries, Woods has only played a handful of tournaments. He played the Masters and the 150th Open last year.
The 15-time major winner is still recovering from the plantar fasciitis he got due to the accident. He has made it clear that he won’t be using golf carts in the Tour events and will only use them where they are allowed or are not official Tour events. This is why Woods only played in the PNC Championship and Capital One’s The Match.
The 47-year-old was last seen in Capital One’s exhibition, “The Match,” where he paired up with Rory McIlroy against Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth. He previously played in the PNC Championship alongside his son Charlie Woods.
If all goes as planned, Tiger Woods will next participate in the Masters in April. He is still hopeful of going past Jack Nicklaus’ record of most Majors and is still motivated for that. It seems fans will have to get used to not seeing Woods frequently on Tour.
2023 WM Phoenix Open Field
This year’s Waste Management Phoenix Open field looks star-studded with all the big names featured in the event. The 136-player field will have some of the biggest names on the Tour, given that the tournament is one of the 17 elevated designated events.
Rory McIlroy will play his first PGA Tour event after last year’s CJ Cup in October. He is coming to the TPC Scottsdale after recording a win in the Hero Dubai Desert Classic. Eight of the world’s top-10 golfers will fight for the title at the WM Phoenix Open.
World No. 2 Scottie Scheffler will look to defend the title after winning his first Tour title last year at TPC Scottsdale. World No. 3 Jon Rahm is having a good year with two wins already in January and four wins in the last six starts. He currently leads the FedExCup standings as well.
World No. 8 Will Zalatoris is absent from the Phoenix Open alongside Adam Scott. Both have skipped the event using their rights to skip one of the seventeen designated events. Shane Lowry and Collin Morikawa are returning to TPC Scottsdale after being absent for two years
This year will not see any amateurs in the event. However, the five pros have received sponsor exemptions, which include Taylor Montgomery, Davis Thompson, Ricky Barnes, Charley Hoffman and two-time WM Phoenix Open winner J.B. Holmes.
The purse size this year is $20 million and the winner’s share is $3,60,000.
