'He didn't want to': Tiger Woods rejects offer for return to golf

The US Open will miss the presence of Tiger Woods this year, after the legendary golfer turned down an invitation to join the broadcast team for the famous tournament.

Woods is continuing to recover from a car crash earlier in the year which left him with horrific injuries to his right leg.

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The Torrey Pines course playing host to the tournament was the site of one of Woods' most memorable achievements, when he defeated Rocco Mediate in a 19-hole playoff for the 2008 title.

Producers and announcers from next week's broadcast held a news conference on Wednesday to discuss US Open coverage.

Announcer Dan Hicks provided the scoop on Woods, per Golf.com.

"We were all thinking how good that would be, who better, if he couldn’t be there to play it, to voice it and have him a part of the show," Hicks said.

"But we were rebuffed. He didn’t want to do it, and I totally understand his situation."

Hicks speculated that Woods didn't want to become a "sideshow" attraction at the site of one of his greatest golf achievements.

"There is a lot going on in his world right now, and there’s also a part of Tiger that doesn’t want to become this, I don’t want to, for lack of a better word, a sideshow at an event where we should be concentrating on what’s happening," Hicks said.

The US Open starts next Thursday, where Jon Rahm remains a +1000 betting favorite despite his withdrawal from the Memorial Tournament last week with COVID-19.

Woods and his team have provided sporadic updates on his status since the rollover crash that left him with comminuted open leg fractures fractures among other serious injuries.

He said in a May interview with Golf Digest that his focus remains on walking without aid, while declining to address a return to competitive golf.

"My physical therapy has been keeping me busy," Woods said.

"I do my routines every day and am focused on my No. 1 goal right now, walking on my own. Taking it one step at a time."

Woods has also appeared in social media photos, most recently seen shedding his walking boot in an image shared in late May.

Jason Day to miss his first US Open in a decade

A lame and lowly-ranked Jason Day will miss his first major championship in almost a decade after being officially ruled out of this month's US Open at Torrey Pines.

Australia's former world No.1 has dropped out of the top 60, meaning he failed to gain direct entry, and opted out of this week's sectional qualifying event, preferring to receive treatment at home in Ohio for his chronic back injury.

Day hasn't missed a major since the 2012 British Open and has contested 10 consecutive US Opens since finishing second behind Rory McIlroy on debut in 2011.

Day's absence is the 33-year-old's latest setback after missed cuts at the past two Masters, the rescheduled 2020 edition in November and this year's in April.

He barely made the cut at last month's US PGA Championship, eventually sharing 44th spot - six years after hoisting the Wanamaker Trophy for his lone major championship triumph, then finishing runner-up in his title defence.

Day is a two-time US Open runner-up as well as a two-time PGA Tour winner at Torrey Pines, where he also won the World Juniors before turning pro.

But languishing at 107th in the FedExCup standings, he's now in a battle to make the season-ending playoffs featuring the top 125 on the PGA Tour, and to be fit next month's British Open at Royal St George's.

With Yahoo Sport US/AAP

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