Tiger Woods to skip Players, per Mark Steinberg: 'Back just not ready'

Let the hand wringing intensify.

Tiger Woods won’t be playing The Players Championship next week.

Mark Steinberg, Woods’ agent, informed ESPN Friday afternoon.

“Back just not ready,” Mark Steinberg, Woods’ agent, informed ESPN. “Not concerning long term, just not ready.”

Even with that, speculation promises to escalate over how serious his back issues are becoming again, with questions growing over how ready he will be to defend his title at the Masters in a little more than a month, or whether he will be able to defend his title at all.

Woods has not played since the Genesis Invitational in the middle of February, when he struggled with back stiffness, putting up a 76 and 77 on the weekend to…