PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Tiger Woods is skipping the Tour Championship next week for the first time in his career, saying he was mentally and physically tired from a hectic stretch through the Ryder Cup.

"I'm confident that this extended break will help me to recharge my batteries for the 2007 season," Woods said.

It was a huge blow to the season-ending Tour Championship at East Lake, the PGA Tour's version of an All-Star game for the top 30 players on its money list.

Masters champion Phil Mickelson previously has said he is done playing for the year, and with Stephen Ames out with a back injury, the field will be down to 27.

But while he is done with the PGA Tour this year, Woods is not finished playing.

He has a contract to play the HSBC Champions event in China the week after the Tour Championship, and he is defending champion at the Dunlop Phoenix in Japan the following week. On his way back home, he is playing the two-day Grand Slam of Golf at Po'ipu, Kaua'i.

It was not clear when Woods' next chance to extend his PGA Tour winning streak would come. The season begins at Kapalua the first week in January for the winners-only Mercedes-Benz Championship.

Despite winning two majors and a career-high five straight tournaments that ended with a loss in the World Match Play Championship on the European tour, Woods referred to the season as a loss in London because of the May 3 death of his father, Earl Woods.