Tour News

Tiger WD’s at Bay Hill, Masters chances look slim

Published

10 years ago

Mar 18, 2014

Defending champion Tiger Woods withdrew from the Arnold Palmer Invitational late Tuesday, citing a back injury that has plagued the golfer since he withdrew from the Honda Classic on March 2.

“I personally called Arnold today to tell him that, sadly, I won’t be able to play in his tournament this year,” Woods said on his website. “Unfortunately, my back spasms and the pain haven’t subsided. It’s too early to know about the Masters, and I will continue to be evaluated and work closely with my doctors.”

Woods, 38, has suffered a slew of injuries in his career, but he has identified his back problem as the most problematic because of the discomfort it creates before he make impact with the ball.

“A bad back is something that is no joke,” Woods said March 5 in his Wednesday press conference before the WGC-Cadillac Championship. “When I had my injuries over the years, it was always after impact … So I can do my job and deliver the club and deliver the final moment to the ball and hit the shot I want to hit. It’s just going to hurt like hell afterwards. I played that way for years. But with the back, it’s a totally different deal. There are certain moments, certain movements you just can’t do. That’s one of the things I’ve started to learn about this type of injury; it’s very different.”

Woods shot rounds of 76-73-66 at the WGC-Cadillac Championship to put himself in contention going into the final round. But he re-aggravated his back on Sunday after an 8-iron shot from an awkward stance on the 6th hole. Unlike at the Honda Classic, however, Woods opted to finish his final round at Doral. He made no birdies on the round and shot a career-worst 78 to finish tied for 25th.

More bad news for Woods is that when he has been healthy, he still hasn’t played very well. He began 2014 by missing the third-round cut at the Farmers Insurance Open in late January, a tournament he’s won seven times. He next teed it up in Dubai for the European Tour’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic, where he finished tied for 41st.

It is unlikely that Woods will play either of the two PGA Tour events preceding The Masters, putting him in a situation that has become all to common for him in recent years: entering a major championship without his normal tournament preparation. Last year, Woods skipped the PGA Tour’s AT&T National as he rehabbed an elbow injury for the U.S. Open. He finished the event tied for 32nd.

In 2010, Woods returned to the Masters after a four-month hiatus from competitive golf that stemmed from his infidelity to his ex-wife Elin Nordegren. He finished tied for 4th, five shots back of winner Phil Mickelson.

The one time Woods won a major championship after a break from competitive golf came in 2008 at the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, Woods’ last major championship victory. He hadn’t played competitive golf in the two months preceding the event.

Woods has shown many times that he can overcome injuries and long layoffs to play championship-caliber golf at the majors, but his continued health problems and inconsistent play in 2014 make it more unlikely than ever that he can rebound and win his 15th major championship.

Click here to see what GolfWRX Members are saying about Woods’ injury and WD in our forum.

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18 Comments

steve

Mar 21, 2014 at 9:23 am

He is just to big. He should stop lifting the weights like a body builder and do more golf exercise. They way he works out will tighten his muscles, I am sure he doe’s some stretching but it won’t offset the tightness. Plus that Foley swing is terrible on his back the way he whips his upper body thru impact. And he still doesn’t know that swing, two way miss. If he is going to stay with Foley swing more like Rose then Mayhan. I think he will make another run but come up short, I can see another major. But there are way to many problems. Back problems, swing problems and without Tiger playing tour problems.

Reply Report comment
- Taylor Made
  
  Mar 21, 2014 at 11:05 am
  
  You know nothing about working out. Have you ever been to a gym?
  
  Reply Report comment
  - steve
    
    Mar 21, 2014 at 4:08 pm
    
    How can argue with that? You nailed it, perfect. Precise and detailed, well said. With a name like Taylormade that saids it all
    
    Reply Report comment
Jack

Mar 20, 2014 at 3:27 am

Hopefully Tiger will not miss the Masters, but even that event seems in doubt right now. We are only talking about 21 days away. Hopefully Tiger and his doc and or therapist can work his back out.

Reply Report comment
John B

Mar 19, 2014 at 5:20 pm

I think his WD is because he is afraid of Patrick Reed. Lol

Reply Report comment
pk20152

Mar 19, 2014 at 5:09 pm

It’s a shame… He def drives up viewer numbers and interest every time he tee’s it up. I don’t think we’ll ever see anyone in our life time dominate the way he did. So many young, physically conscious, talented golfers coming up through the ranks will level the playing field.

Reply Report comment
Bobby Bottleservice

Mar 19, 2014 at 4:24 pm

He be skippin dis tourney so he can play in masters….come on peeps

tiger be about majors and majors only cuz that is what his career will be defined by

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Archie Bunker

Mar 19, 2014 at 1:37 pm

The late Cary Middlecoff predicted that Tiger would start having back problems after the age of 30, due to the torque his swing puts on his back. Guess old Doc was right….

Reply Report comment
Robert

Mar 19, 2014 at 12:53 pm

Disappointed he’s not teeing it up at Doral. The tournaments he misses never feel like a complete field. I’m sure the other players are also disappointed to miss the chance of trying to beat the best there ever was.

Reply Report comment
- billy
  
  Mar 19, 2014 at 1:29 pm
  
  There will be new Star’s that emerge and carry the torch…The game is bigger than the Players even those who were special …Jack,Hogan,Player,Arnie and yes even Tiger will eventually step out of the spotlight. I just seems Tigers body is giving up faster than normal which is hard for many to accept but remember we all are “human” at the end of the day.
  
  Reply Report comment
Carlos Carvalho

Mar 19, 2014 at 12:49 pm

I’m suffering from lumbar and cervical pain. I’m doing physiotherapy twice a week and the doctor advised me to stay away from playing golf for 2 months. Only Tiger can make a shoulder turn with a bad back, he is a world class athlete. I know how it hurts and it hurts bad. I wish he could recover very soon and swing without pain.

Reply Report comment
EdMan

Mar 19, 2014 at 12:40 pm

I suffer from a bad back as well, having had disc surgery about a year ago. I can tell you that a bad back and golf are a very difficult challenge. I know how tough it is to play a weekend match nonetheless competitive golf. I hope Tiger takes the time and gets healthy otherwise this could be the injury the completely changes his career. Truth be told it might already be. The back is no joke.

Reply Report comment
billy

Mar 19, 2014 at 9:45 am

More than his back is out…Sadly his short game is in hiding also and very average by tour standards…very average. Tiger would snatch a par from the jaws of a double every time he was around the green in his prime. I now often see him jack chips well past the hole and miss 6′ putts on the regular. Is his back affecting his total game? Likely…I could imagine pain would creep into every stroke but until he regains that short game magic I do not see many Wins ahead.

Reply Report comment
Homer Simpson

Mar 19, 2014 at 7:24 am

…look at the man’s swing. Hurts my back watching it!

Reply Report comment
paul

Mar 18, 2014 at 10:12 pm

I wish the guy would just take a year off and take care of himself. I know it would suck for ratings.

Reply Report comment
- Jack
  
  Mar 19, 2014 at 2:05 am
  
  I agree. Would be nice to see him give up being #1 and come out for the majors and catch jack. Which I think that could be the way he’s going. I mean really, what’s another tournament win at this point to him? It’s almost impossible for anyone to catch him. But I think tiger knows what he is doing and want to do.
  
  Reply Report comment
- The dude
  
  Mar 19, 2014 at 7:13 pm
  
  Interesting…….finchem would retire
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Hunter
    
    Mar 19, 2014 at 8:53 pm
    
    Tim knows with Tiger not playing as much or at the same level as when he was first designated as the head honcho, the tour will lose millions. Tournament attendances will go down, heck even nike would lose some cash
    
    Reply Report comment

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