16 February 2024 , 21:41
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Tiger Woods' comeback tournament ended prematurely after the golf legend was forced to withdraw in the second round.
Woods was struggling on Day Two at the Genesis Invitational and was driven off the course on a cart before officially pulling out of the event. According to Sky Sports, the 15-time major winner was suffering from illness.
He was one over par for the day through six holes and two over for the tournament when he decided to withdraw. There was further concern when an ambulance arrived at Riviera Country Club shortly after Woods withdrew, but he did not leave the course in the vehicle.
The premature end to his weekend instantly prompted concern it could be related to the back and ankle injuries he is now dealing with at this stage of his career. On the first day, he ended his round with an uncharacteristic shank on the 18th hole, later admitting he was coping with back spasms at the time.
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"Oh, definitely, I shanked it," Woods said. "Well, my back was spasming the last couple holes and it was locking up. I came down and it didn't move, and I presented [the] hosel first and shanked it."
He was seen stretching and keeping loose on course early in his round on Friday, but the insistence from his team his withdrawal was down to illness rather than injury will be a relief for fans of the American legend.
Woods had a very mixed round on Thursday with five birdies and six bogeys. He summed up the round, his first in a PGA Tour event since withdrawing from The Masters last year, as being "a lot of good and a lot of indifferent."
Tiger Woods was playing his first PGA Tour event in almost a year at The Genesis Invitational (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)"It was one or the other," Woods said. "I don't know how many pars I had, wasn't many. I was either making birdies or bogeys and just never really got anything consistent going today.
"I struggled with the speed of the greens. I couldn't believe how fast they were today even though I made a couple. I ran a bunch by the hole today, it was very stressful. But the golf course is in such perfect shape. Considering the amount of rain they've gotten, to get the golf course this fast is pretty impressive."
Woods finished 18th in a 20-man field in the Hero World Challenge in December. After competing in that unofficial tournament, he was back on the PGA Tour and also debuting his new Sun Day Red clothing line. On Friday, he was wearing a homage to the outfit he wore when he made his PGA Tour debut at the course back in 1992.