We are saddened to announce Earl Woods has lost his battle with cancer. Tiger Woods has issued a profoundly moving statement about his father here.

Tiger Woods may not defend his title at The Masters in two weeks. It depends on how Earl Woods, his father, who is battling prostate cancer, is fairing. Earlier this week, Tiger Woods walked away from the final practice round at the Players Championship to be with his father, who is credited with nurturing the extraordinary golfing talent of his son, Tiger Woods. Tiger came back to be in the Players Championship at the request of his father. According to newspaper reports, sportscasters and fans, Tiger Woods looks weary, and sounds uncertain about his future plans.

Woods is paired with his friend, Darren Clarke, whose wife, Heather, is battling cancer. "Actually, today the best thing was probably to have a pairing with Darren," Woods said. "Everyone knows Darren is kind of struggling with the same thing. We were talking about it all day." Clarke waved off an interview request after hitting balls on the range.

"It puts things in perspective," Woods said. "You hit a bad shot, and you want to get upset with yourself because you know you can hit better shots, but in the whole scheme of things, it's just a golf shot."

May 03. 2006 Update: Tiger Woods loses father to cancer.