Tiger Woods to miss US Open to give himself time to ‘get stronger’

Tiger Woods has confirmed he will not play at next week’s US Open, but still plans to compete at the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews next month.

It follows the 15-time major winner’s withdrawal from the US PGA Championship in May after three rounds.

“I previously informed the USGA that I will not be competing in the US Open as my body needs more time to get stronger for major championship golf,” Woods, 46, said on Twitter.

The event begins on 16 June.

Woods added: “I do hope and plan to be ready to play in Ireland at the JP McManus Pro-Am and at The Open next month. I’m excited to get back out there soon.”

The veteran American returned to competition at the Masters in April, 14 months after a serious car crash, from which he had to be “extricated from the wreck” by firefighters and paramedics.

The severity of Woods’ injuries saw him embark on a long road to recovery and initially raised questions over whether he would even be able to compete again at the highest level.

He played his third worst round in a major at the US PGA Championship last month, with a nine-over 79, that left him joint last on 12 over.

He also made five consecutive bogeys for the first time in a major since turning professional in 1996.

On Monday, Woods’ great rival Phil Mickelson was added to the field for the first event in the Greg Norman-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series, which starts on Thursday.

In an interview with the Washington Post, Norman said Woods had been offered a “mind-blowingly enormous” deal to take part in the series. (BBC)