Tiger Woods Withdraws From PGA Championship

Coming into the tournament, many had wondered how Tiger would cope with Southern Hills' layout following his return at Augusta National just last month.

After an opening round of 74, the 15-time Major winner battled back bravely, showing grit and determination as a second round 69 meant he would make it into the weekend.

However, Tiger looked to be struggling over the third round on Saturday, with the 46-year-old hobbling throughout the day. What's more, an opening nine of 41 didn't help proceedings, with Tiger making four bogies on the bounce from the 10th to the 13th.

A birdie on the 15th did raise a sarcastic action, however, he would eventually sign for a nine-over-par 79. Following the round, Tiger was asked about the possibility of playing on Sunday, with the American simply replying: "Well, I'm sore. I know that is for a fact. We'll do some work and see how it goes."

Now, it has been revealed that Tiger will not be featuring on Sunday, with a statement from PGA of America President, Jim Richerson, saying: “Tiger Woods has informed us that he is withdrawing from the 2022 PGA Championship. We admire Tiger’s valiant effort to compete here at Southern Hills and wish him the best as he continues to recover from his injuries.”

The PGA Championship is the second tournament Tiger has played in following his serious car crash some 15 months ago. At the Masters, he bravely made it through all four rounds, with the instant thought being this event at Southern Hills.

As he completed his incredible one-under round on Friday, the four-time PGA Championship winner seemed in good spirits, stating that: "There's a reason why you fight hard and you're able to give yourself a chance on the weekend. You just never know when you might get hot. As I said, I've won tournaments being on the cut number. This weekend I'm going to have to go low. It's going to be different. The wind is going to be coming out of the north. It's going to be cooler."

However, the 46-year-old was seen really struggling on Saturday, with the weather in Tulsa certainly not helping his cause as he battled on bravely following an early triple bogey on the par 3 sixth.

The limp, which had been extremely prominent, even in the early stages of the tournament, was even more noticeable now and, following a round of one birdie, seven bogies and a triple, Tiger took the decision to not feature on Sunday, withdrawing from the tournament on Saturday evening.

Attention now turns to whether he will be fit enough to appear at the US Open, which gets underway on the 16th June at The Country Club. If the 15-time Major winner isn't able to tee it up in Brookline, then it may be The Open where we see Tiger next, with the 46-year-old calling St Andrews his "favourite golf course in the world."

More importantly, let's hope that Tiger makes a speedy recovery and that he will return to the game sooner rather than later...