Tiger Woods won't be at The Players Championship next week. That wasn't a big surprise. Woods has not played in the PGA Tour's flagship event since 2019 and it would have been big news if had decided to play.

Four-times major champion Rory McIlroy said on Wednesday he does not expect Tiger Woods, who had surgery this week for a ruptured Achilles tendon, to return to competition this year. Woods, 49, did not offer insight on the severity of his latest injury setback or a recovery timeline but McIlroy thinks the 15-times major winner has a long period of recuperation ahead of him.

The injury means Woods almost certainly will miss next month’s Masters and could be doubtful to tee it up at any of this year’s majors.

Tiger Woods had recently been ramping up his training regimen in an effort to play in the 2025 Masters. However, he appears to have pushed himself a bit too far. On Tuesday, March 11, less than one month away from the start of the tournament,