Tiger Woods’ newest return to aggressive golf ended with a withdrawal seven holes into his second spherical, however fairly than ache or a brand new harm holding him again, the 15-time main champion needed to drop out on account of sickness.
Woods withdrew from the Genesis Invitational, the event he hosts, after experiencing flu-like signs on Friday afternoon in Pacific Palisades, Calif.
The 48-year-old hadn’t performed an official PGA Tour occasion for the reason that Masters 10 months in the past, when he withdrew earlier than present process ankle surgical procedure. After capturing a 1-over 72 on Thursday, he admitted to reporters he was coping with again spasms together with soreness in his surgically repaired leg.
Woods opened Friday’s spherical with a birdie and made consecutive bogeys at Nos. 4-5. After saving par on the par-3 sixth and hitting his drive on the par-4 seventh, the Golf Channel broadcast confirmed a guidelines official driving Woods off the course on a cart.
Even after the PGA Tour confirmed Woods’ withdrawal, hypothesis grew when hearth and paramedic vehicles had been seen outdoors the Riviera clubhouse. However Woods didn’t depart in a kind of vehicles, and he was later seen leaving the property in a standard event car.
Rob McNamara, Woods’ good friend and enterprise accomplice, supplied temporary particulars.
“So he began feeling some flu-like signs final night time,” McNamara mentioned. “Awakened this morning, they had been worse than the night time earlier. He had a bit little bit of a fever and that, and was higher in the course of the warm-up, however then when he obtained on the market and was strolling and enjoying, he began feeling dizzy.
“In the end the docs are saying he’s obtained some — doubtlessly some sort of flu and that he was dehydrated. He’s been handled with an IV bag and he’s doing a lot, a lot better and he’ll be launched on his personal right here quickly.”
McNamara mentioned Woods’ again was high quality and the signs “are reversing themselves now that he’s had an IV.”
The withdrawal places a damper on the golf star’s newest tried comeback. After a sequence of accidents, together with a single-car accident that just about value him his leg in 2021, Woods has mentioned that enjoying one event a month was an affordable aim for this level in his profession.
That is the third time Woods has withdrawn in six official PGA Tour begins for the reason that 2021 accident. He dropped out of the 2022 PGA Championship after 54 holes and didn’t return to complete his third spherical on the rain-soaked 2023 Masters.