Woods to skip Riviera again
Tiger Woods has a four-tournament winning streak, but it won’t be at stake next week at Riviera Country Club because he’s skipping the Northern Trust Open, sources close to Woods said.
Woods doesn’t have to officially decide until Friday, but some sort of announcement about his plans is expected as early as today.
Woods has played the former Nissan Open nine times as a pro and twice as an amateur, but not since 2006 when he shot 69-74 and withdrew because he was ill.
His best result in the tournament was a playoff loss to Billy Mayfair in 1998 at Valencia Country Club. His best finish at Riviera Country Club was a tie for seventh in 2004 when Mike Weir won.
Tom Pulchinski, the Northern Trust tournament director, said there will be a strong field at Riviera nonetheless.
“I haven’t heard for sure that Tiger isn’t coming,” he said, “and we’re always happy to have him, but we still have a great field, one of the strongest all year, and we’re confident we’ll have a great tournament.”
Phil Mickelson leads a field of 144 pros that includes 10 of the top 12 ranked players.
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