Tiger Woods withdrew his appearance in Safeway Open which should be his first tournament after more than a year absent. He said that he is not ready to play yet and planned to delay his comeback until December.
After a long injury hindered him to play, Woods is unable to come back to his old self and decided to withdraw from Safeway Open tournament in Napa, Californis this month. He said that he is not ready to play again according to report by CBS Sports. He also said he will continue to rebuild his game to make a real comeback in December.
"I practiced the last several days in California, but after a lot of hours, I knew I wasn't ready to compete against the best golfers in the world," he said. "I will continue to work hard, and plan to play at my foundation's event, the Hero World Challenge, in Albany."
The Hero World Challenge is the annual golf tournament held as a charity game for Tiger Woods Foundation. Since its inception in 1999, the tournament has raised $26 million for charities to youth development programs. The 2016 Hero World Challenge will be held in Albany, Bahama on Nov. 29 to Dec. 4, and the defending champion Bubba Watson will come back to defend his title.
Woods who is always confident when entering a tournament seems to regain his confidence when he was elected as non-playing captain for the victorious U.S. Ryder Cup team in Hazeltine, Minnesota, as reported by USA Today. But during practice, he realizes that he has not reached his top level like he was before.
Woods is now ranked 711th in PGA, after a long injury and poor performance brought him down low. His back injury started in 2009, when he was rushed to the hospital after a car crash. Afterward, he never fully recovered from the injury in his lower back.