PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLA. – The day started with pain and ended abruptly for Tiger Woods as he withdrew from the Honda Classic after 13 holes Sunday, citing a bad back.
Concern now shifts to whether he will be able to play in the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Trump National Doral, which begins Thursday and where he is the defending champion.
"It's too early to tell. I'll get treatment every day to try to calm it down. Don't know yet. We'll see how I am; wait until Thursday and see how it feels," Woods said.
Woods started Sunday's final round at 5-under-par 205 for the tournament, but was 5 over on his front nine, going out in 40.
"It's my lower back with spasms. It started this morning warming up," Woods said.
Woods said it was the same problem that brought him to his knees on the final day of The Barclays in August. Coincidentally, that was also on the 13th hole, following a hard swing, causing him to collapse in the fairway.
He attributed that flareup to a soft hotel bed. But he finished the round and just missed forcing a playoff when his putt for birdie stopped just short, leaving Adam Scott with the win.
This was the seventh time Woods has had to withdraw from a tournament, including the 1995 U.S. Open when he was still an amateur. Five of those have come in the past four years, with the most recent instance before Sunday coming in the final round of the 2012 WGC-Cadillac Championship due to a left leg injury.
