Tiger Woods said he will not compete at the annual Hero World Challenge. Jane Barlow | Getty Images The golf world will wait at least a little bit longer to see Tiger Woods. The 15-time major champion announced Monday evening that he will not compete in the Hero World Challenge , the event he hosts annually in the Bahamas, as he continues to recover from microdiscectomy surgery on September 13.
“I am disappointed that I will not be able to compete this year at the Hero World Challenge, but always look forward to being tournament host and spending the week with @HeroMotoCorp,” he posted on social media on Monday evening. “Excited to welcome our exemptions @JustinThomas34, @JDayGolf and @NickDunlap62 into the field.” The Hero, scheduled for the first week in December, attracts the golf world’s attention annually for its proximity to Woods.
Tiger serves as tournament host and has used the event as a staging ground for various competitive reboots over the last decade. Monday’s news indicates he is still recovering from the back surgery that sidelined him on September 13, the sixth procedure to his spine since the fusion surgery that breathed new life into his competitive career in the late 2010s. Woods said in September that he hoped the latest surgery — a minimally invasive procedure to remove a herniated disc and the associated pressure on the nerves — would alleviate the “back spasms and pain” he was experiencing throughout much of the 2024 season.
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