Tiger Woods missing US Open a reminder that a true great is slipping further from view

While the news was not surprising, it provided another reminder that opportunities to witness a true great at the pinnacle of his profession are swiftly slipping from view.

On Monday, the USGA announced Tiger Woods had withdrawn from next month’s US Open at Los Angeles Country Club, the season’s third major coming too soon as the American continues his recovery from recent surgery.

Woods, a three-time tournament winner, underwent a “subtalar fusion procedure” immediately following last month’s Masters, the 15-time major champion requiring an operation to treat post-traumatic arthritis in his ankle. The issue dates to the severe leg injuries Woods sustained in a serious car crash in February 2021.

At Augusta, Woods’ physical problems were laid bare. A video circulated on social media showing the five-time champion struggling to walk on the course. Understandably, and having already made his 23rd Masters cut, Woods withdrew before the weather-delayed third round was complete. He confirmed in a statement he had "reaggravated" his plantar fasciitis – a tissue inflammation causing pain in the heel.

Woods' inability to make the US Open, scheduled to begin on June 12, had therefore been expected. Winner of the tournament in 2000, 2002 and 2008, he skipped the event last year – he hasn’t competed since 2020, when he missed the cut at Winged Foot – in what marked his only major miss in 2022.

However, it seems certain now he will be one for four this season. Woods, 47, sat out last week’s US PGA Championship, and the Open at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in England in July looks a longshot, too.

Woods, as granted it feels like he does almost everywhere he has played professionally, has history with the Hoylake course: he captured his