Woods misses Sawgrass practice

WORLD number one Tiger Woods had everybody guessing yesterday when he did not turn up for his planned practice round at Sawgrass on the eve of the Players Championship, the biggest event of the golf season so far.

A scheduled press conference was cancelled after officials were informed that Woods was not going to be at the course. Inevitably, there was speculation that the 30-year-old’s absence may have something to do with his health of his father Earl, who has been battling cancer.

With reports that Woods had flown to California to see his father, his manager Mark Steinberg issued a statement saying: “Tiger Woods was off site today for personal reasons but intends to be back at Sawgrass for his first-round tee time on Thursday at 12.33pm.”