Tiger Woods will miss the Arnold Palmer Invitational for the second straight year in order to rest his body and continue training, sources told Golf Digest.
It’s a somewhat surprising announcement considering Woods’ history at Bay Hill—he’s won the event eight times, most recently in 2013.
Woods has not played in back-to-back weeks yet this year, and the Players Championship is the week after Bay Hill. Avoiding back-to-back starts was part of his decision to skip last week’s WGC-Mexico Championship the week after shooting 77-76 over the weekend at the Genesis Invitational to finish last among those making the cut.
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“The idea is to peak around Augusta time,” Woods said about not playing in Mexico. “I just felt I wasn’t going to be ready for next week, a little rundown.”
Woods was scheduled to play in last year’s API before he withdrew before the tournament with a neck strain. He’s played in the tournament only once since that victory in 2013, finishing T-5 in 2018.
The rest of Woods’ pre-Masters schedule remains something of a mystery. It’s hard to imagine he would skip the Players Championship if healthy, and the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play seems likely to be his final start before Augusta. Woods played five events last year in the lead-up to his 15th major victory; he has played only two so far this year, at Riviera and Torrey Pines, where he finished T-9.
Woods has not played PGA Tour events in back-to-back weeks since last August, when he pulled out of the Northern Trust after one round then finished T-37 at the BMW Championship.
“My prep has been just like it usually is,” Woods said on a conference call with reporters this week. “It’s what I need to do to get ready for the Masters.”
Woods, ranked 10th in the Official World Golf Ranking, will have to wait for his next opportunity to win a record 83rd PGA Tour title. He tied Sam Snead at 82 with a three-shot victory at the Zozo Championship in Japan last October.
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