Golf: Tiger misses cut in new PGA game

Tiger Woods has slipped to 241 in the world rankings. Photo / AP

EA Sports' new Rory McIlroy PGA Tour game has been released and was due to be launched at The Open in St Andrews - but without Tiger Woods as a playable golfer.

Woods, the man who fronted the game series for 16 years from 1998 to 2013, has slipped to 241 in golf's world rankings. With EA selecting its playable golfers only from among the top 100, Woods will play no part in the new game.

The games developer has also reportedly cited "political reasons" for excluding Woods.

The new PGA Tour game, which includes the St Andrews course where The Open is being held this week, will be the first in the EA series to run on the Frostbite engine that previously powered the Battlefield and Need for Speed games.

The most notable difference of Frostbite will be the lack of any load times between holes, which EA said could reduce the time taken to complete a round by up to 15 minutes.

The game has so far received middling reviews from IGN and GamesRadar, but PGA Tour's executive producer Brent Nielsen said: "We think everyone's going to find something about this game to love, plus we're looking forward to delivering free content post-launch to everyone who picks up the game."

EA announced Rory McIlroy as the new face of the PGA Tour game franchise in March this year, having dropped Woods as their leading man in October 2013.

This week's Open will see Woods back competing at the course where he won the Claret Jug in 2000 and 2005, while McIlroy will be absent through injury.