Former Masters champion Vijay Singh has sadly been forced to withdraw from the tournament due to injury. The seasoned golfer, who enjoyed a competitive rivalry with Tiger Woods during his prime, will not be participating at Augusta this week.
Singh, who clinched the Masters title in 2000, won’t compete this year. Augusta National Golf Club revealed that the Fijian notified the competition committee of his withdrawal on Monday. The specifics of the 62-year-old’s injury remain undisclosed. He is now the 17th former champion to opt out of the Masters this year.
Singh triumphed at the Masters in 2000, beating Ernie Els by three strokes. Between 2000 and 2006, the 62-year-old secured a top-eight finish in six out of seven starts at Augusta.
This year was supposed to mark Singh’s 32nd appearance at the Masters. However, his withdrawal reduces the player count to 95 for the 89th edition of the season’s first major golf championship.
Last year, Singh made the cut at the age of 61 and tied for 58th place at 14-over. This will be the first time since 1994 that the Masters field will not include Singh, who also won the PGA Championship twice during the peak of his career in the late 90s and 2000s.
Singh’s injury follows his T18 finish at the PGA Tour Champions event in Florida last week. However, he is not the only former champion forced to withdraw from Augusta.
Woods, who won the Masters for the fifth time in 2019, is recovering from surgery, which is expected to keep him out of action for several months. The golf legend ruptured his Achilles while training for the first major of the year.
Whether Woods will attend Scottie Scheffler’s Champions Dinner this week remains to be seen. The 15-time major winner has not confirmed his plans to be at Augusta.
There are 15 other past champions who will not be in action, including Sandy Lyle and Larry Mize, who most recently played at the Masters in 2023.
However, Bernhard Langer will be among the veteran champions taking to the course. Having missed last year through injury, it will mark Langer’s 41st and final appearance at Augusta.
The action gets underway on Thursday. Scheffler is the favourite to defend his championship and wear the Green Jacket for a third time.
However, Rory McIlroy will have high hopes of finally triumphing at Augusta to complete a career grand slam.
McIlroy has been in strong form this year, winning at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am and The Players ahead of the Masters.
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