Getty Tiger Woods during the second round of The Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club
Making his first official start on the PGA Tour since withdrawing from The Masters last April, Tiger Woods suffered the same result in his return at The Genesis Invitational, withdrawing just six holes into his second round at Riviera Country Club.
Tournament host Tiger Woods has withdrawn from The Genesis Invitational due to illness.
Moments after finding the fairway with his tee shot at the 409-yard, par-4 seventh hole, Woods was seen being carted off the course by a rules official.
While it was initially thought the back spasms that hindered the end of his first round on Thursday led to the withdrawal, it was announced during the Golf Channel broadcast that Tiger had dropped out of the tournament due to illness, not an injury.
Tiger Woods Was Outside the Cut Line When He Withdrew From the Genesis
After opening his week at Riviera with a 1-over round of 72 on Thursday, Woods got off to a nice start in Friday’s second round, easily reaching the 503-yard, par-5 opening hole in two and two-putting for an easy birdie to get back to even par.
But that’s as good as it got for Tiger.
Clearly not as comfortable as he was in the first round — he was seen wincing several times on Friday — Woods parred the second and third holes but went back in the black with a bogey at the 245-yard, par-3 fourth hole.
After finding the left rough with his tee shot at the 427-yard, par-4 fifth, the 15-time major champion carded a second consecutive bogey, failing to get up and down after his approach left him nearly 100 feet from the hole.
Woods scrambled to make par at the 171-yard, par-3 sixth after missing the green, holing a seven-footer to remain at 2-over for the tournament.
As mentioned, Tiger found the fairway at the seventh, but that was his final shot of the day before being carted off the course. According to the PGA Tour, the extent of Woods’ illness is unknown.
Even before the withdrawal, however, there was a strong chance that Tiger wouldn’t have been around for the weekend anyway. At the time he left the course, he was 11 shots out of the lead and two shots back of the projected cutline.
In contrast to the majority of PGA Tour Signature events, which typically don’t feature a cut, the final two rounds of the Genesis are reserved for the top 50 and ties in the 70-player field after 36 holes, in addition to all competitors within 10 shots of the lead.
Tiger Shanked a Shot During His Opening Round Due to Back Spasms
While Woods didn’t seem to have much trouble walking around Riviera, which some worried would be an issue given the issues he’s had with his legs these last few years, including the surgery for the plantar fasciitis that led to his withdrawal at Augusta last spring, the 48-year-old did experience back spasms near the end of his opening round.
Tiger, of course, has undergone multiple back surgeries throughout his career, including a fusion procedure in 2017 that clearly still hinders his swing at times. One such instance came on his second shot at the 475-yard, par-4 18th hole on Thursday.
No one is immune to the dreaded shank.
Not even Tiger Woods.
After finding the fairway from the tee, Woods had roughly 176 yards remaining for his approach. Opting for an 8-iron, Tiger, who later said his back locked up on him, hit his second shot directly to the right into a eucalyptus tree, with his ball ultimately coming to rest behind several trees.
But as he’s done so many times throughout his career, Woods hit an incredible shot with his third and nearly made par, ultimately two-putting for bogey.
It’s not yet known when Tiger Woods plans to tee it up next.
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Tiger Woods Carted Off the Course After Withdrawing From the Genesis