Tiger Woods stars in television commercials for the PGA Tour's inaugural FedEx Cup playoffs, whistling the theme to Rocky III and speaking to a portrait of Bobby Jones. But he will not appear in next week's Barclays tournament at Westchester Country Club in Harrison, New York.
Woods, citing fatigue, has decided to skip the event, which starts on Thursday, a blow to a playoff series that the tour has been marketing for nearly two years.
Woods did say that he planned to play in the other three events.
PHOTO: EPA
Woods, the No. 1 golfer in the world and the top-ranked player in the FedEx Cup standings, had said for weeks that it was his intention to play in all four events, starting with the Barclays and culminating with the Tour Championship, which begins Sept. 13 in Atlanta, Georgia.
"As I have said all along, my intention was to compete in all four events, including the Barclays Classic," Woods said on Friday on his Web site, tigerwoods.com. "But the truth is, I'm just not ready.
"Playing the two weeks in the heat and humidity were mentally and physically draining," said Woods, referring to his victories Aug. 5 at the Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio, and last Sunday at the PGA Championship in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
"My body is spent and I need a short break," he said. "Major championships are grueling experiences and usually necessitate recovery time."
Ty Votaw, the PGA Tour's executive vice president for communications and international affairs, said: "We're disappointed that Tiger will not be playing the Barclays next week. It's clear from Tiger's statement he remains focused on winning the FedEx Cup. Whether he can do it will be one of the many exciting things our fans will be following over the next four weeks."
The tour designed the FedEx playoffs to bring the game's best players together more often while also giving the season a more meaningful finish after the PGA Championship.
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