In only his 10th round of golf since back surgery on March 31, Tiger Woods left the WGC_Bridgestone_Invitational grimacing in pain after just eight holes of the final round. The great golfers’ withdrawal from the tournament, visibly limping in pain, left the golfing world speculating if this was indeed the end of the season for him. Woods was three over for the round and four over for the tournament when he was taken off the ninth fairway in a golf cart, moments after he struck the tee shot there.
Woods returned from surgery at the Quicken Loans Invitational, an event hosted by his own foundation, where he missed the cut after a disappointing pair of rounds. At the Open in Hoylake, his second upon return, Woods finished 69th for his lowest finish at the event as a professional. At the WGC this week, the American has been sliding down the order with each round before his eventual withdrawal today.
Apparently, Woods aggravated his back whilst playing the second shot at the second hole of the fourth round. He did not offer too much comment, except for saying, “I just jarred it and it has been spasming ever since,” Woods said recounting that moment at the second. “It’s just the whole lower back.” It has been a little more than four months since he underwent microdiscectomy surgery on his back.
Bubba Watson was playing with Woods and he was a sought after figure for insight on what might have happened with Woods. “I know that he’s in the rough on 6, he hit it fat on 5 off the tee, which is going to, again, strain your back, put some stress on it,” Watson said. “I’ve never had back problems, so I’m guessing it’s pretty painful. He hit some shots that we’re not used to seeing Tiger hit, even when he’s coming back from an injury like this.”
Woods was seen moving gingerly around his courtesy car, struggling to change shoes. His caddie Joe LaCava was at hand to drive him away, the golfer clearly in discomfort. BBC’s golf correspondent Iain Carter made a rather grim assessment of the situation, “This is a massive setback for the former world number one, who was playing only his 10th competitive round since back surgery in March. The 38-year-old was a frail figure as he departed. Witnessing his painful attempt to change his shoes in the Firestone car park in the wake of his buggy ride from the ninth fairway, it was hard not to fear for his golfing future.”
The result means Woods will almost certainly fail to make the FedexCup Playoffs, for the second time in four years. There are only two events between now and the qualification cut off – the top 125 at the end of the Wyndham Championship in two weeks make it to the Playoffs. Woods was scheduled to arrive in Valhalla for some practice and was paired with Phil Mickelson for the first two rounds at the PGA Championship this week.
Report by Anand Datla
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