Two-time British Open champion Greg Norman said on Friday that he will skip the Senior PGA Championship next week as he continues to recover from a surgical procedure he underwent in March to alleviate back pain that has plagued him for years. "It is unfortunate that I am forced to withdraw from the Senior PGA," said the former No. 1 player in the world. "I have maintained a very solid relationship with the PGA of America through the years, and I thought it was most appropriate that one of its major championships would be my first senior event." Norman was scheduled to make his Champions Tour debut at the 66th Senior PGA Championship which is being contested at Laurel Valley Golf Club in Ligonier, Pennsylvania, from May 26-29. "It's just that I don't feel like I'm ready to compete at major championship level yet," said Norman. "After conferring with my physician, we decided that it was in my best interest to stay the course of the rehabilitation program that was outlined immediately after surgery." While Norman will miss the Champions Tour's first major of 2005, he expects to make his debut on the senior circuit this year.