Tiger Woods Pulls Out of Hero World Challenge, Still Expects to Play Again in 2022

Tiger Woods was set to play in his first PGA TOUR-sanctioned event since The Open Championship in July.

Those plans have been tarnished.

He announced on Monday that he is withdrawing from the Hero World Challenge due to plantar fasciitis in his foot.

"In my preparation and practice for this week's Hero World Challenge, I've developed plantar fasciitis in my right foot, which is making it difficult to walk," Woods released in a statement. "After consulting with my doctors and trainers, I have decided to withdraw this week and focus on my hosting duties."

Tiger Woods plays host at the Hero World Challenge as 20 of the world's best golfers ascend into the Bahamas. Woods received a special exemption to play in the event. He has won the Hero World Challenge five previous times and last played in the event in 2019

Woods was 50-1 at SuperBook to win the event. He had the second-longest odds to win, ahead of only Kevin Kisner at 60-1.

The field consists of six of the top 10 in Official World Golf Rankings and 17 of the top 23 players in the world.

Woods is expected to be replaced in the field by Austrian Sepp Straka, who won The Honda Classic on TOUR last season.

In his statement, he reiterated that he is still committed to playing in The Match and the PNC Championship with his son, Charlie.

The Match is set to take place on Dec. 10 at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida. It is expected to be Woods and Rory McIlroy vs. Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas. 

The PNC Championship will be directly after that from Dec. 15 to Dec. 18. It was originally a father/son event but has evolved to be a partner event that can have any combination of relatives. Tiger and Charlie finished second behind John Daly and John Daly II in 2021.

Both events allow Woods to use a cart instead of walking.