Tiger Woods Officially Out Of U.S. Open

Mar 2, 2014; Palm Beach Gardens, FL, USA; Tiger Woods grabs his back after his drive on the ninth hole and would later withdraw in the final round of The Honda Classic golf tournament at PGA National GC Champion Course. Mandatory Credit: Brad Barr-USA TODAY Sports

Tiger Woods made it official on Wednesday–he will not play in the 2014 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No.2 because he is still recuperating from back surgery he had on March 31.

Woods finished tied for third in the 1999 Open at Pinehurst and was the runner-up to Michael Campbell in 2005. This will be the second straight major that Woods, who also lost his No. 1 World Ranking last week, will miss. He previously backed out of playing the Masters in April.

"“Unfortunately, I won’t be there because I’m not yet physically able to play competitive golf,” Woods said on his website, TigerWoods.com. “I’d like to convey my regrets to the USGA leadership, the volunteers, and the fans that I won’t be at Pinehurst. The U.S. Open is very important to me, and I know it’s going to be a great week.”"

Woods, who has won 14 majors and is still chasing Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18, hasn’t won a major championship since his 2008 U.S. Open win at Torrey Pines. He has won three U.S. Open championships during his career.

This will be the sixth major championship that Woods has missed during his career.

Woods has not played competitively since firing a final-round 78 at Doral on March 9. At the Honda Classic the week before Doral, Woods withdrew during the middle of his final round citing back issues.

“Despite missing the first two majors, and several other important tournaments, I remain very optimistic about this year and my future,” he said.