Tiger Woods' 2025 debut won't be at next week's Players Championship.
The field for what's widely considered golf's "fifth major" was released late Friday afternoon, and Woods wasn't among the players listed.
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There was some thought Woods could return at TPC Sawgrass. He said earlier this year that he was hoping to play more this season, and he has taken part in TGL matches in recent weeks, as well as the competitive Seminole Pro-Member tournament Monday in Florida with a host of other PGA Tour players.
But Woods' mother, Kultida, died at 80 on Feb. 4, and he said after his TGL match Tuesday that he hasn't played much since.
"I haven't really gotten into it," Woods told reporters in South Florida. "My heart is not really into practicing right now. I've had so many other things to do with the tour and trying to do other things.
"Once I start probably feeling a little bit better and start getting into it, I'll start looking at the schedule."
Woods was scheduled to play in last month's Genesis Invitational, which he hosts, but withdrew after his mother's death. He has been active away from the course, meeting with President Donald Trump to speed up the PGA Tour's proposed deal with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, which backs LIV Golf.
Woods, 49, hasn't played an official PGA Tour event since he missed the cut at The Open at Royal Troon Golf Course in Scotland in July. He had microdecompression surgery on the lumbar spine to relieve pain in his lower back in mid-September, which is believed to be his sixth back procedure in the past 10 years.
A two-time winner at the Players, Woods has not played the PGA Tour's flagship event since 2019. He tied for 30th, and a month later won the Masters for his fifth green jacket and his 15th major championship.
He earned a five-year exemption for the Players with that Masters win, getting an extra year to account for the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The Players was canceled after one round in 2020, though Woods did not enter because he was feeling stiffness in his back.
There are no special exemptions for the Players. His only way back would be through his performance this year, or if he were to play the PGA Tour Champions after turning 50 and winning the Kaulig Companies Championship -- formerly Senior Players -- at Firestone.
Woods is on the list of players for April's Masters, and there is no commitment deadline for him to play at Augusta National.
Woods has never missed the cut at the Masters as a pro, setting a tournament record last year with his 24th cut made. He had 19 appearances at The Players and failed to make the cut only one time in 2011, when he withdrew after a 42 on the front nine because of a left leg injury.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.