Tiger Woods spotted in public after missing the cut in July, claims he’s “not tournament sharp yet”

It's been a while since American golf legend Tiger Woods competed in a professional tournament. In his last appearance on the professional circuit, the 15-time Major championship winner was spotted playing at The Open Championship, where he scored 79-77 and missed the cut.

Since the conclusion of that tournament, Woods was recently spotted for the first time in public. On social media platform X, Sports Illustrated's Bob Harig posted a tweet in which he mentioned Woods' statement about not competing in the Hero World Challenge.

Harig's tweet read:

"Tiger is in public today for the first time since missing the cut in July at Royal Troon. Not playing the Hero tournament in the Bahamas. Had back surgery in Sept. "I'm not tournament sharp yet. I'm not tough enough to compete at this level."

You can check Bob Harig's tweet below:

It's worth noting that back in September this year, Tiger Woods had announced he had undergone back surgery. In a post on social media, the 48-year-old's post read:

"The surgery went smoothly, and l'm hopeful this will help alleviate the back spasms and pain I was experiencing throughout most of the 2024 season. I look forward to tackling this rehab and preparing myself to get back to normal life activities, including golf."

While Tiger Woods won't be playing on the professional golf circuit until he is ready, his Hero World Challenge is set to take place on December 5th. This event hosted by Woods will take place at the Albany Golf Course and will feature some of the best golfers on the planet.

A look at the full field for Tiger Woods' Hero World Challenge 2024

American golfer Tiger Woods clicked during Round 2 of The 152nd Open in July this year [Image via Getty]

The Hero World Challenge is the last event on the PGA Tour schedule, even though it does not count for any FedEx Cup points. This year's event to be held at the Albany Golf Course is set to feature some of the best golfers in the world, like Scottie Scheffler and Wyndham Clark.

It's also worth noting that these high-level golfers are from seven different countries. Here is a detailed look at the full field for the event:

Scottie Scheffler (1), USA
Ludvig Åberg (5), Sweden
Wyndham Clark (6), USA
Patrick Cantlay (9) USA
Sahith Theegala (12), USA
Keegan Bradley (13), USA
Russell Henley (15), USA
Robert MacIntyre (16), Scotland
Sam Burns (17), USA
Brian Harman (19), USA
Sungjae Im (20), Republic of Korea
Tom Kim (23), Republic of Korea
Aaron Rai (24), England
Matthieu Pavon (26), France
Akshay Bhatia (28), USA
Cameron Young (29), USA
Justin Thomas (30), USA
Sepp Straka, Tournament Exemption, Austria
Jason Day, Tournament Exemption, USA
Nick Dunlap, Tournament Exepmption, USA

About the author

Varun is a Golf and MLB journalist for Sportskeeda with over 4 years of work experience in his bag. Currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication, he worked for many sites, including EssentiallySports, FanSided, Khel Now, Get Football, and a few others.

Varun is a fan of golfer Scottie Scheffler due to the latter’s mindset, and he admires Aaron Judge and his ability to keep being consistent. As a purist golf fan, he would love to compete at the Masters if given the opportunity, but is also happy with LIV Golf driving more eyeballs towards the sport. If he gets the chance to play for an MLB team, he would love to play for the New York Yankees.

Varun’s mantra for writing factually correct feature articles is thorough verification. Another key element in his writing is staying updated with both sports through the official websites of pro wrestling and Golf. He has had the privilege of interviewing MMA legend Greg Jackson in his career so far.

Varun likes to spend his free time reading or writing poetry and fiction. He also plans to learn and play golf in his spare time.

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Edited by Luke Koshi