Tiger Woods Abruptly Withdraws From Genesis Invitational Amid 'Illness'

Tiger Woods abruptly withdrew from the Genesis Invitational on Friday, February 16.

Woods, 48, cited “an illness” as the reason behind his exit during day two of the tournament, the New York Post reported. The athlete can be seen in photos sitting in a golf cart while getting driven off the course by a rules official “after hitting his tee shot into the middle of the fairway on the seventh hole.”

After the first day of the tournament, the athlete complained he was having back spasms, telling reporters at the tournament, “It’s been spasming the last three holes, and it just locked up on me. … Didn’t move, didn’t rotate.”

It appeared Woods was looking forward to continuing the tournament before his exit.

“Off the tee at 11:54 AM for round 2,” he wrote via Instagram on Thursday, February 15. Two days prior, Woods showed followers his lavish Rolex watch with the caption, “It’s time! Teeing it up at Riv Thursday at 9:25am and Friday at 11:54am PT.”

The event, which is hosted by Woods’ foundation, took place at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles and is scheduled to last until Sunday, February 18. The tournament marked Woods’ first return to the green during a PGA event since the 2023 Masters, which he withdrew from after the third round because of his plantar fasciitis.

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Woods has been making a slow return to the PGA after undergoing surgery on his right leg after sustaining injuries from a February 2021 car crash.

Woods was injured in a single-car collision in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, Us Weekly confirmed at the time. “Mr. Woods was extricated from the wreck … by Los Angeles County firefighters and paramedics, then transported to a local hospital by ambulance for his injuries,” a statement from the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department read.

In April 2023, Woods’ team confirmed via X that the golfer underwent ankle surgery “to address his post-traumatic arthritis from his previous talus fracture.”

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While his injuries were traumatic, Woods’ caddie, Joe LaCava, told the New York Post that the golfer was still a serious contender.

“He still has the power, the swing speed, the shots and the length to contend,” LaCava said that same month. “The injury is devastating, but if he could take a cart he could contend tomorrow.”