'I wan't ready to compete against the best golfers,' says Woods

Tiger Woods has postponed his return to the PGA Tour to December.

The 40-year-old had announced his plan to participate in the Safeway Open, the opening event of the U.S. PGA Tour 2016 – 2017 season, but he said in his statement on Monday, “After a lot of hours, I knew I wasn’t ready to compete against the best golfers in the world.”

Woods, who had stayed away from the field since August last year due to his waist injury, planned to return to the PGA through the Safeway Open, but suddenly declared his absence only three days before the event’s opening. “'My health is good and I feel strong but my game is vulnerable and not where it needs to be,” Woods said. “I will continue to work hard and plan to play at my foundation’s event, the Hero World Challenge.”

Woods had also expressed his intention to make a comeback ahead of the U.S. Open this year, before giving up. U.S. media reported that Woods has been reluctant to return due to heavy burden about his performance. “It cannot be easy for Woods to forget how he started 2015: with a first-round withdrawal and three scores in the 80s in his first six events,” The New York Times said.

Watchers say that Woods feels bigger burden because he must display stellar performance in his return event to demonstrate that he remains strong. Some say that Woods hastily displayed his intention to make a comeback in order to attract sponsors.

Meanwhile, the Safeway Open enjoyed a boon thanks to rising ticket sales that more than doubled from previous years on news about Woods’ return, but it is now seeing looming signs of slow business.

정윤철기자 trigger@donga.com