Tiger Woods has elected to skip Tuesday’s TGL match for the first time this season. It will mark his team’s fourth match, and Woods has played in every one leading up to Tuesday night’s tilt against The Bay.
Why Tiger Woods decided to skip pivotal TGL match against first-place team
Tiger Woods will miss a high-stakes TGL match, as Max Homa, Kevin Kisner, and Tom Kim will fill in instead.
Jack Milko has been playing golf since he was five years old. He has yet to record a hole-in-one, but he did secure an M.A. in Sports Journalism from St. Bonaventure University.
Max Homa, Kevin Kisner, and Tom Kim will face off against Shane Lowry, Min Woo Lee, and Wyndham Clark, with Woods and Ludvig Åberg sitting out for their respective teams. The Bay sits atop the current standings, while Jupiter Links occupies the fifth position. A win would go a long way for Jupiter, as the top four teams qualify for the postseason. The Bay has already clinched a spot in the playoffs.
Woods initially thought he would play in every TGL match, given that he co-founded this new venture. But his mother, Kultida, passed away on Feb. 4, one week after she was at the SoFi Center watching her son play. That match, in which Woods and Jupiter Links Golf Club defeated Rory McIlroy’s Boston Common team in overtime, marked the last time she watched her son play.
Two weeks later, on Feb. 18, he returned to competition, but his team lost to New York by a score of 10-to-3. After that match, Woods said he had a tough time dealing with the emotions of losing his mother.
“I had a hard time driving down here,” Woods said.
“I hadn’t hit a golf ball since I played with the President and just put everything away and shut it off. I had a really hard time getting here and then reliving all the moments that we’ve had, my mom, how excited she was to have Charlie drive her here. So those are some great moments and great memories. It’s been a hard process.”
Woods then received a question about when he would play next. He had committed to making his PGA Tour season debut the week before at the Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines, the tournament he hosts, but he withdrew after his mother’s death. Playing golf has not been his priority.
“I really haven’t thought about golf, so I don’t think I’m going to be thinking about it for just a little bit here,” Woods said, referencing his schedule.
Who knows when Woods will tee it up next.
He has previously indicated that he would like to get more reps this season, especially before returning to Augusta National. Perhaps he will play at The Players, which begins on Mar. 13 at TPC Sawgrass.
His Jupiter Links team also has one TGL match remaining, scheduled for Tuesday, Mar. 4.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.
