Former world number one Tiger Woods will not compete in next month’s Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.
Woods, a 15-time major winner, then had fusion surgery on a bone in his ankle to address post-traumatic arthritis from a previous fracture in the joint.
That ruled the American out of the PGA Championship and this week’s US Open.
Woods had hoped to be fit enough to compete at Hoylake where, 17 years ago, he won his first tournament since the death of father Earl two months earlier.
However, an R&A spokesman told the PA news agency: “We have been advised that Tiger won’t be playing at Royal Liverpool. We wish him all the best with his recovery.”
Woods feared his leg would have to be amputated because of the serious injuries he suffered in a car accident in Los Angeles in February 2021.
He managed to return to action 14 months later and finished 47th in the 2022 Masters, but then missed the cut in the 150th Open at St Andrews and has since kept a limited competition schedule.
The Open Championship will be played from 20-23 July at Royal Liverpool for the 13th time – and first since Rory McIlroy enjoyed a third major success in 2014.
