Updated at 9:10 a.m., Friday, December 29, 2006
Tiger Woods to skip 2007 PGA opener on Maui
Associated Press
KAPALUA, Maui — Tiger Woods decided Friday to skip the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship, meaning the PGA Tour's "new era in golf" will begin next week amid old questions about the absence of its biggest star.Woods, who was skiing with his family last week in Colorado, said he did not have time to get his game ready and he wanted to spend more time with his family.
He has won six consecutive PGA Tour events, a streak that will remain on hold until Jan. 25 at the Buick Invitational in San Diego, where Woods is the two-time defending champion.
It was the second straight year Woods will not play the winners-only tournament. He missed last year to spend time with his father, whose health was rapidly deteriorating from cancer. Earl Woods died May 3.
The only other time Woods did not go to Kapalua was in 2003, when he was recovering from knee surgery.
His absence this year, however, is a setback to PGA Tour officials trying to build momentum for its new FedExCup competition.
The tour revamped its schedule to feature a points race that starts at Mercedes-Benz Championship and concludes with four "playoff" tournaments at the end of the season, with the winner getting $10 million in deferred compensation. It has been promoting the FedExCup as the "new era in golf" in print and TV advertising the last month.
The season starts Thursday without two of the most popular players in golf — Woods and Masters champion Phil Mickelson, who has not played at Kapalua since 2001. Ernie Els and Retief Goosen did not win on the PGA Tour last year, meaning the field at Kapalua will have only one major champion from '06 (Geoff Ogilvy) and only eight of the top 20 players in the world.
