Tiger Woods has withdrawn from the upcoming 2023 U.S Open Championship at the Los Angeles Country Club, the USGA announced Monday. Woods' withdrawal comes as he continues to recover aftrer undergoing ankle surgery in April. Woods has not played since the Masters that same month where he made the cut for a record-tying 23rd time before withdrawing during the third round due to injury.
It marks the third straight year in which Woods has missed the U.S. Open. The 15-time major champion was absent from the field during the 2021 event at Torrey Pines in La Jolla, California, as he recovered from serious injuries suffered in a car crash earlier that year. He skipped the 2022 U.S. Open held at the Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, citing a need for rest.
In the time between his appearance at the 2022 Masters and ultimately withdrawing from the 2022 U.S. Open, Woods did enter the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but withdrew after three rounds due to injury. Woods returned to major championship golf at the 2022 Open Championship at St. Andrews but missed the cut.
Woods, 47, is a three-time winner at the U.S. Open. Two of those triumphs came in California, first at Pebble Beach Golf Links in 2000 and again at Torrey Pines in 2008. He also prevailed in 2002 when the tournament was played at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York. His most recent major title came four years ago at the 2019 Masters, his first major win since the 2008 U.S. Open.
Woods has appeared in the U.S. Open 22 times during his career over a 25-year span from 1995-2020. He missed the cut during his most recent U.S. Open appearance three years ago at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York. That year's event was moved from its traditional June date to September and played without spectators due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year's U.S. Open marks the first time the Los Angeles Country Club has played host to a men's major championship. The club is a short drive away from Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, where Woods, a Southern California native, played his first professional event as a 16-year-old in 1992. Los Angeles County has not hosted a U.S. Open since the event was played at Rivera in 1948.
