Tiger Woods will not seek Ryder Cup spot because of ailing back

Tiger Woods announced Wednesday evening on his website that he will not seek a spot on the Ryder Cup team because he needs time to rest and rehabilitate his injured back.

“I’ve been told by my doctors and trainer that my back muscles need to be rehabilitated and healed,” he said in a statement on tigerwoods.com. “They’ve advised me not to play or practice now. I was fortunate that my recent back injury was not related to my surgery and was muscular only.”

Woods, who did not qualify for one of the nine Ryder Cup spots based on points accrued during play, will not play in any more PGA Tour events this year and said he’ll aim to return to competitive golf during his annual World Challenge event in early December.

Woods’ statement said that he already discussed the situation with Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson, who earlier this week said a final decision on using one of the three captain’s picks to place Woods on the team would depend on how Woods felt about his health and game.

“I have already spoken to Tom about the Ryder Cup, and while I greatly appreciate his thinking about me for a possible captain’s pick, I took myself out of consideration,” Woods’ statement said. “The U.S. team and the Ryder Cup mean too much to me not to be able to give it my best. I’ll be cheering for the U.S. team. I think we have an outstanding squad going into the matches.”

Woods took to Twitter to let people know they could read about his decision: “Just posted a statement on Ryder Cup and a golf update. Always grateful for the support. https://www.tigerwoods.com.”

Woods, who had back surgery in March to relieve pressure from a pinched nerve and missed the Masters and U.S. Open, did not make the cut at the PGA Championship last week at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky. He withdrew from the Bridgestone Invitational two weeks ago because of back spasms after an awkward shot in
the final round.