British Open: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Zach Johnson among biggest names not playing in The Open at Royal Birkdale
The last major championship of the season is here, and it is also moving forward without both Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.
The two men who once dominated the golf world have now missed all four major championships this season — the first year since 1989 that didn’t have at least one of them in a major championship — and are among the biggest names not teeing it up this week at Royal Birkdale for the British Open. That shouldn't come as much of a surprise, considering their respective off-court situations, but still. From a golf standpoint, it's absolutely disappointing.
Here's a look at the biggest names not playing in The Open this week.
Tiger Woods
He's surfaced a bit more lately, but Tiger Woods is still very much away from golf.
Woods was involved in a rollover crash and arrested earlier this year in Florida after he collided with a pickup truck. Woods was arrested and charged with a DUI with property damage and refusal to submit to a lawful test.
He then stepped away from golf to seek treatment, which he reportedly did in Switzerland in recent months. He has been spotted back in the United States, and even helped introduce the PGA Tour's new schedule announcement in Connecticut in June, but he's not addressed his crash or arrest publicly yet.
Woods hasn't played much at all in recent years. He both ruptured his Achilles and underwent back surgery in 2025, though he did return to play in the TGL indoor final in March just days before his arrest.
Woods has won the British Open three times in his career, most recently when he went back-to-back in 2005 and 2006. He last played in 2024, when he missed the cut at Royal Troon.
Phil Mickelson
Phil Mickelson is still not playing right now, either.
Mickelson played in just a single LIV Golf event this season, and announced in April that he was stepping away due to a personal family health matter. Mickelson also reportedly left his Southern California golf club earlier this year, too, after he allegedly made "nonconsensual and inappropriate physical contact" with a female employee before a round. Mickelson's team described it as a "misunderstanding" that has been cleaned up.
It's unclear when Mickelson will return to competitive golf.
Mickelson won the British Open once in his career, back in 2013. He's finished in second twice, too, but has missed the cut there in five of his last eight starts.
Dustin Johnson
Dustin Johnson isn't playing in the British Open this week, either. Johnson pulled out of a final qualifying event last month, something he needed to earn entry into the tournament after his past exemption from winning the Masters in 2020 expired.
Johnson, like many LIV Golfers, has seen his Official World Golf Rankings spot plummet in recent years. The former top-ranked golfer in the world is now at No. 216 in the world rankings.
Johnson was briefly in contention at the U.S. Open last month, but he had an epic collapse on Friday after getting within a shot of the lead. Johnson went 8-over in a five-hole span, and carded a quadruple bogey, to nearly miss the cut.
Zach Johnson
The former U.S. Ryder Cup captain opted to skip The Open this week for just the second time since he lifted the Claret Jug at St. Andrews back in 2015.
Johnson is going to play in the Senior British Open later this month, and he's won in back-to-back starts on the PGA Tour Champions — including at last week's Kaulig Companies Championship. Johnson, who turned 50 earlier this year, said that he simply "can't play four weeks in a row."
But with his recent success on the senior circuit, it's hard to blame him.
Tony Finau
Like both Woods and Mickelson, Tony Finau missed all four major championships this season. That's not something he's done in well over a decade.
Finau has dropped to No. 123 in the OWGR, and he only has a single top-10 finish on Tour this season. It's been a rough go for a man who once cracked the top-10 in the world.
Finau finished in third at the British Open back in 2019, which marked the closest he's ever come to claiming a major title. He also went T3 at the U.S. Open in 2024. But Finau has missed two of his last three cuts at the British Open, and went T56 last season.
