PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. - Tiger Woods withdrew from the Honda Classic on the 13th hole Sunday, claiming a lower back injury with spasms.
Woods was 5 over for the final round, 12 shots behind Rory McIlroy, when he shook hands with Luke Guthrie on the 13th green. The tournament sent a van to collect Woods and his family, and police kept media from the parking lot.
“He just came over and said, ‘I can’t go anymore. It was a pleasure playing with you,’” said Luke Guthrie, paired with Woods the last two days. “I just said, ‘Take it easy. Feel better.’ Pretty uneventful.”
Woods said through spokesman Glenn Greenspan it was lower back problems that started Sunday morning as he was warming up.
He was to defend his title next week in the Cadillac Championship.
“Too early to tell,” Woods said in a statement about playing next week at Doral. “I’ll get every day to try to calm it down. Just don’t know yet. Wait until Thursday and see how it feels.”
Woods already has played a limited schedule this year - 10 rounds at portions of four tournaments. He was to play twice more before the Masters on April 10-13.
Woods said the spasms were similar to what he felt last August at The Barclays, where he dropped to his knees after hitting one shot. Woods finished that tournament in a tie for second, one shot behind Adam Scott.
Sports, Pages 19 on 03/03/2014