Why is Tiger Woods not playing in The Match 2023? Real reason explored
Tiger Woods will not be playing at The Match 2023. The renowned celebrity golf tournament, The Match, is back once again. Some of the biggest celebrities in the world are all ready for the tournament event that is scheduled to begin on June 29 at the Wynn Golf Club.
Tiger Woods has been a part of The Match ever since its first edition when he played against Phil Mickelson. This year will feature an interesting twist: an all-NBA vs. NFL Showdown as Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce take on Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
Stephen Curry may be as good a golf player as he is a basketball player… this shot is INSANE! 😳
Curry & Klay Thompson will actually compete against the NFL’s Patrick Mahomes & Travis Kelce in a 2-on-2 “The Match” event on Thursday night ⛳️
Via. @NBCSAuthentic twitter.com/i/web/status/1… https://t.co/MMPpu7NsUT
Tiger Woods will not be a part of the Match 2023. One of the reasons is that this year is the NFL vs. NBA showdown, which is an anticipated battle. Woods is also out for likely the rest of the season due to an injury.
Woods is currently rehabilitating from his ankle surgery back in April. The 47-year-old was forced to withdraw from the 2023 Masters after debilitating ankle pain left him unable to walk. Following his withdrawal, Woods underwent a subtalar ankle fusion surgery on April 19.
Since then, Woods has not participated in any event as he works on rehabilitating his ankle. The injury will most likely mean that he will miss out on the rest of the season and might only come back next year.
Tiger Woods' history at The Match
The first edition of The Match was a showdown between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson titled, the Match: Tiger vs. Phil. It was played in 2018 at the Shadow Creek Golf Club in Las Vegas with a prize purse of $9 million. It was Phil Mickelson who won the showdown after 22 holes of play and four playoffs.
Being a biannual event, the next event named The Match: Champions for Charity was another showdown event that combined NFL and golf worlds. Woods was paired with Peyton Manning and Phil Mickelson was paired with Tom Brady. Woods and Manning ended up winning by one hole.
Since then a variety of players have featured in The Match, including a showdown between Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau and most recently a showdown between Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas who took victory over the pair of Rory McIlroy and Woods.