Tiger Woods will not tee it up at Players Championship

Is it time to worry?

Tiger Woods will not be playing next week’s Players Championship, the PGA Tour’s flagship event at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida and a tournament he’s won twice. Woods’ next start remains a mystery as the golf world counts down the days to the Masters in April.

“Back just not ready. Not concerning long term, just not ready,” Woods’ agent, Mark Steinberg, said in a text.

Photos: Tiger celebrates 5th Masters win

His absence at the Players will mark Woods’ fourth consecutive week away from the PGA Tour. In the most recent start of the two he’s made this year, Woods, 44, finished last among the players who made the cut in the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club north of Los Angeles, where he pulled double duty as the host of the event that benefits his foundation.

It was there that Woods said he was bothered by stiffness in his fused back, which led him to opt out of the following week’s World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship – where he tied for 10th a year ago.

He also elected to not play in the Honda Classic near his Florida home the following week and skipped this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in Orlando, where he’s won a record eight titles.

“Back still stiff and he’s just not quite ready,” Mark Steinberg, Woods’ agent, said about Woods’ decision to skip the Arnold Palmer Invitational. But Steinberg emphasized there was no lingering health issues to be concerned about. “It’s the new normal. Things are week to week. He’s very much good to go when he’s healthy, and he’s not when he’s a little sore.”

Woods often has cited that his fused back and overall wear and tear on his body will force him to cut back on his schedule in an attempt to prolong his career. But one has to wonder if he’ll have enough reps – a word he often uses – before he gets to Augusta National. It’s also natural to ponder if there’s more to his four-week absence beyond back stiffness and overall wear and tear.

In his only other start in 2020, Woods tied for ninth in the Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego. He then took two weeks off before playing in the Genesis.

Photos: Tiger Woods through the years

Last year, Woods played five events leading into the Masters, where he won his fifth green jacket and 15th major – the Farmers, Genesis, Mexico Championship, the Players and the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play.

Only three events remain after the Players before the Masters – the Valspar Championship in Florida, the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in Texas and the Valero Texas Open.

After the Players is the Valspar Invitational, which Woods has played just once, tying for second in 2018. Next up would be the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, where he tied for fifth last year. The last tournament before the Masters is the Valero Texas Open, which Woods has only played in 1996 when he finished third. And he rarely plays the week before a major.

All told, Woods played just eight rounds this year.