Tiger Woods will not play in next week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, a tournament he has won eight times, most recently in 2013.

Mark Steinberg, longtime agent for Woods, 44, confirmed to ESPN’s Bob Harig that Woods “is not going to play. Back still stiff and just not quite ready.”

Steinberg also told USA Today’s Steve DiMeglio that Woods skipping an event in which he’s enjoyed so much success is “the new normal. Things are week to week. He’s very much good to go when he’s healthy, and he’s not when he’s a little sore.”

Woods remains in search of his 83rd PGA TOUR win, which would move him out of a tie with Sam Snead for the all-time wins record. He is coming off a 68th-place finish at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera, and a T9 at the Farmers Insurance Open before that.

His most recent win was the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP last fall, which tied Snead with 82 TOUR wins. He then went undefeated as playing captain at the Presidents Cup at the end of last year to lead his U.S. Team to victory.

Prior to Friday’s news, several golf observers speculated that Woods’ historic 83rd victory could come at Bay Hill, where among his many accomplishments he won four straight times from 2000-03. He finished T5 there in 2018, and last season did not play. He would later capture not just the ZOZO Championship but also The Masters Tournament for his 15th major.

Woods is a two-time winner of THE PLAYERS Championship (2001, 2013), which begins in two weeks. He is currently 25th in the FedExCup and 10th in the world.

Hovland  is a PGA inner — finally

When Viktor Hovland chipped in for a birdie on the 10th hole of his final round of the Puerto Rico Open, his lead stretched to three shots. His trademark grin was wider than ever and the hardcore golf fans all over the world were nodding. This is exactly what was supposed to happen. Perhaps it should have already happened.

Expectations on the former amateur standout have been sky high since day one of his professional career. Before turning pro, some of his achievements included winning the U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach, being part of a victorious NCAA National Championship team at Oklahoma State, reaching world No. 1 on the amateur rankings and claiming low amateur honors at both the Masters and U.S. Open.

Playing on sponsor invites last summer, Hovland made the cut in each of his first five PGA TOUR starts as a pro, finishing inside the top 16 four times, including finishing solo fourth at the Wyndham Championship. His last 13 rounds of the season were in the 60s.

After narrowly missing out on earning his PGA TOUR card via non-member points, he headed to the Korn Ferry Tour Finals and promptly finished T11-T2 to secure his place on TOUR with relative ease. And then, as a rookie on TOUR, he extended his consecutive rounds in the 60s streak to a record 19, in addition to opening his season with a top-10.

So despite being just 22 and in his 17th PGA TOUR start this week in Puerto Rico, many were asking why he hadn’t already won on the TOUR like his Oklahoma State teammate Matthew Wolfe and fellow young gun Collin Morikawa. This sort of thinking is easy to get caught up in, but it’s a terribly unfair expectation. Winning on the PGA TOUR is not easy – just ask Josh Teater, the 40-year-old journeyman in his 196th start who was trying to reel Hovland in for his own maiden triumph.

So just as it was setting up to look easy for Hovland, it wasn’t. On the par-3 11th, Hovland hit a poor tee shot that flared right in the wind. He then chunked two chips in a row, and after finally finding the putting surface, missed a short putt. In the blink of an eye, he was writing a six on his card, a “train wreck” he called it, and the triple-bogey dropped him back into a tie for the lead.

It was a critical junction in his young career, particularly given what he was using the week to focus on. Hovland and his caddie Shay Knight had been cognizant of the expectations of others creeping into his attitude. With results fading a bit of late, every missed putt was affecting his mindset a little more than it should. After all, he was supposed to be contending every week, right? But the pair had highlighted the issue and were focused on addressing it.

“There are so many expectations on him, which is tough, but we knew when he was just playing on exemptions he was just out there having fun and you could see that and feel that and he was playing great,” Knight said. “And then he got his card and I think started to try and fill those expectations right away and he was getting very stressed and he wasn’t himself.

“So we had a chat about it a couple of weeks ago and I said ‘It’s a long year and it is going to be a rollercoaster, so you just need to stay positive.’ That’s exactly what he did this week. His attitude was unbelievable and I think that was the real difference maker.”

Indeed, after the blemish, Hovland knuckled down. Teater sensed his big chance to break through and birdied the par-5 15th up ahead of the young Norwegian to take the lead. Knowing he needed to match it, Hovland’s approach shot came up short and right of the green in the rough. He promptly chipped in for eagle to take the lead back outright.