Heart not into practising right now says Tiger Woods

MIAMI – It does not appear like Tiger Woods will be playing in next week’s Players Championship, if his remarks at his Tomorrow’s Golf League event on March 4 are any indication.

With the Masters looming just five weeks away, it may also prove a challenge for the 15-time Major champion to be ready for Augusta National.

Speaking at the sidelines of the tech-driven league he helped create with Rory McIlroy, Woods cited the recent death of his mother and his work on the PGA Tour policy board as to why he has not had the desire to work on his game.

“This is the third time I’ve touched a club since my mum passed, so I haven’t really gotten into it,” the 49-year-old said.

“My heart is really not into practising right now. I’ve had so many other things to do with the Tour and trying to do other things. Once I start probably feeling a little bit better and start getting into it, I’ll start looking at the schedule.”

The March 13-16 Players Championship will be followed by the Valspar Championship.

The last official tournament Woods played was a missed cut at last July’s British Open.

The American former world No. 1, continuing to recover from a 2021 car crash, underwent a sixth back procedure in September, passed up the Hero World Challenge, then joined his son, Charlie, at the PNC Championship in December.

Woods has to decide by March 7 if he is competing in the Players.

One of the things that he is involved in is the deal to reunify golf. But McIlroy, on March 5, said that the agreement does not feel any closer despite a flurry of recent meetings between the rival PGA Tour and Saudi-backed LIV Golf.

Hopes of a breakthrough in negotiations