Tiger Woods is one of the world’s biggest sports stars, but one thing missing from his iconic career is an appearance at the Olympics.

The 15-time major winner has won it all since turning pro 28 years ago but will stay at home while his peers head to Paris next month.

4Woods has enjoyed a great career, but an Olympic medal has evaded himCredit: Getty

American Woods made his senior debut in 1996 a month after the Olympics were held in his home country in Atlanta.

Since then, he has seen six editions of the Games pass him by, with his absence from Paris 2024 set to be a seventh and likely final.

In many ways, Woods had no say over his lack of Olympic involvement and talkSPORT.com looks into why he’s never competed for a medal.Why hasn’t Tiger Woods played at the Olympics?

Well, unlike many other sportspeople who have won Olympic medals, Woods hasn’t had that many opportunities.

This is because golf has been largely ignored by the Olympics – with the sport only returning in Rio 2016 after a 112-year absence.

In fact, Paris 2024 will be only the fifth time in history it has been included in the Games.

Golf was first played in the Olympics in 1900 and 1904 before it was left off the schedule for over a century.

As a result, Woods was unable to compete during his peak years when he consistently racked up titles and other individual accolades.4Xander Schauffele was the winner of the Men’s individual in TokyoCredit: Getty

He first had the opportunity to qualify upon golf’s Olympic return in 2016, however, a back injury sidelined him for the competition.

By the time 2020 rolled around, Woods wasn’t one of the best male golfers in the United States and failed to make the cut, with the top four from the USA flying over to Japan.

At the time, Woods admitted that he would love to be at the Games.

He said: “I would love to represent my country and be part of the Olympic Games.

“It is something that I was not a part of in 16. I was just coming back, but you know, watching and listening to some of the guys, and how much they really enjoyed their experiences down there, and I’ve had a lot of friends who’ve competed in the Olympic games.”

4It’s looking unlikely we’ll ever see Woods at the Olympics

But it didn’t happen in 2020, and it hasn’t happened in 2024, with Woods now 48-years-old and managing his health and fitness.

Sixty male and female players qualified for Paris, with the top 15 all eligible, but only a maximum of four from each country is permitted for men’s and women’s.

So, the US have seven players competing across the men and women’s games and Woods isn’t one of them.

As it stands, he wouldn’t have even had a chance of qualifying because he’s not in the top 60 on the Olympic Golf Rankings.

Instead, he’s set to be at The Open in Scotland, at Royal Troon.

Woods is set to compete in the final major of the summer.

4Woods is ready to go at The OpenCredit: Getty

Even his involvement in this has been questioned by some, including Colin Montgomerie.

However, when asked about retiring, Woods delivered a brutal response.

He said: “I’ll play as long as I can play and feel like I can still win the event.

“As a past [Open] champion I am exempt until I’m 60. Colin’s not as he’s not a past champion, he’s not exempt.

“He doesn’t get the right to make that decision. I do. When I get to his age I get to make that decision. He doesn’t.”

So until he actually calls it a day, there is always hope that Woods could finally compete in an Olympics, however unlikely that might seem.