Woods to skip WGC event to prepare for PGA Championship

Woods to skip WGC event to prepare for PGA Championship

FILE PHOTO: Jul 19, 2020; Dublin, Ohio, USA; Tiger Woods prepares to putt on the sixth green during the final round of The Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

(Reuters) - Tiger Woods, who has made one start in five months, said on Friday he will skip next week's World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational so he can prepare for the Aug. 6-9 PGA Championship in San Francisco.

The decision means the Masters champion, who is one win shy of a record-breaking 83 PGA Tour victories, will go into the year's first major having played just one event since the PGA Tour returned in June from its three-month COVID-19 hiatus.

"Disappointed to miss @WGCFedEx, but doing what I think is best to prepare me for the @PGAChampionship and upcoming FedExCup Playoffs," the 15-times major champion said on his a Twitter account.

Woods, in his first start since mid-February, made the cut on the number at last week's Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio where he finished in a share of 40th place at six-over-par and 15 shots back of the winner.

The five-times Memorial champion struggled in the final round during which his shot game abandoned him and he carded five bogeys and a double-bogey en route to a four-over-par 76.

"I definitely need more reps," Woods said after his round without specifying whether he needed more competitive reps.

In his two other PGA Tour starts in 2020, Woods finished in a share of ninth place at the Farmers Insurance Open in January and then finished last among those who made that cut at the Genesis Invitational in February.

(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, editing by Pritha Sarkar)