Hero World Challenge | Tiger Woods absent from Bahamas due to back problems

Tiger Woods will not play in the Bahamas next week at the Hero World Challenge as he recovers from a sixth back surgery he underwent last September.

In announcing on social media that he would not play on Monday, Woods indicated that the group of 20 players for his tournament over the holiday period would include Justin Thomas, Nick Dunlap and Jason Day.

Scottie Scheffler is the defending champion.

It was suspected that Woods would not play in the Bahamas since he revealed on September 13 that he had undergone another lower back operation – his sixth in 10 years – which he hoped would relieve some of the spasms he he had suffered this year.

The rehabilitation period for such an operation is generally eight to 12 weeks.

Woods said that while he was disappointed not to play, he was looking forward to his role as tournament host. He finished 18^e out of 20 last year.

Woods is much more likely to compete in the PNC Challenge Dec. 14-15 in Orlando, Fla., a 36-hole event with his son, Charlie. Woods is allowed to drive a cart that week because the tournament is run by the PGA Champions Tour.

A year ago at the Hero World Challenge, Woods spoke about his desire to compete in a big tournament every month. But he withdrew after one round at Riviera and didn’t play again for nearly two months. He has only completed 11 rounds in 2024.

He set a Masters Tournament record by competing in the final two rounds for a 24^e consecutive times. However, he was unable to avoid the loss of the three other major tournaments.