Golf fans have been left saddened after it emerged Tiger Woods is unlikely to make an appearance at the Ryder Cup this weekend.
Team USA will battle Team Europe in golf’s annual teams event at Whistling Straits.
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However USA captain Steve Stricker revealed on Tuesday that Woods is unlikely to make an appearance after previously flagging that he might.
Woods sustained serious injuries after crashing his SUV on February 23 in the Los Angeles County city of Rancho Palos Verdes.
The 45-year-old is recovering from open fractures to his tibia and fibula, which needed a rod inserted to aid healing, and also foot and ankle injuries that needed screws and pins placed to aid in stabilisation.
“Probably not going to happen,” Stricker said of the possibility of Woods showing up to watch the Ryder Cup.
“He’s been, you know, obviously in my ear a lot and I call him pretty regularly. He’s part of our Ryder Cup team.
“He’s part of what we do. He’s been part of so many of these teams.”
Stricker said some of the American players had visited Woods ahead of the Ryder Cup, but it wasn’t the right time for the 15-time major champion to attend the event.
“I think it’s just not a good time for him to be here physically because of where he’s at in his rehabilitation and tough course to walk,” he said.
“Everybody is going to see it, from tee-to-green, it’s difficult. So probably won’t show up.
“But he’s getting better and his focus and mine is on making a comeback to play again.
“We don’t want to get in the way of that because we would all love to see him come back and play.”
Tiger Woods continuing rehabilitation after car accident
Earlier this month, Stricker said Woods is continuing his rehabilitation from the accident “to get better and try to play golf again”.
“He’s very passionate about (the Ryder Cup). He’s a great guy to talk to. He’s a great guy to lean on. We’ve had a number of talks,” Stricker said.
“He’s a part of this Ryder Cup family; he won’t be able to be a captain’s assistant this time around just because of his ongoing rehabilitation to try to get better and try to play golf again, and that is going well.
“He’s progressing, he’s doing well, things are moving in the right direction.”
The last words from Woods publicly about his recovery came in late May when he said he was focused on “walking on my own.”
He was hospitalised for almost a month after the crash.
Woods played three events in the 2020-21 PGA Tour season, most recently the 2020 Masters that was delayed until November, as he was recovering from back surgery.
The Ryder Cup begins September 24.
