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Tiger Woods withdraws mid-round during second round of PGA Tour comeback at Genesis Invitational due to influenza

Paul9 months ago011 mins

Woods hit an incredible shank shot on his approach to the 18th hole as he bogeyed the last to finish on one-over-par at the first round of the Genesis Invitational

“I am resting and feeling better. Good luck to the players this weekend. I’m disappointed to not be there and want to thank Genesis USA and all the fans for the support.”

The tournament host was making his first appearance of 2024 and just his seventh at an official PGA Tour event since The Masters in November 2020, with Woods playing a limited schedule due to injuries in recent seasons.

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Woods mixed five birdies during six bogeys during an eventful opening-round 72 at Riviera Country Club, keeping him within eight strokes of early leader Patrick Cantlay, where he made a shank on the fairway during his final hole and struggled with back spasms over his closing holes.

The 48-year-old birdied the opening round of his second round as he looked to battle through to the weekend but slipped below the cut mark with back-to-back bogeys from the fourth hole, then made a two-putt par at the sixth hole and hit his tee shot onto the seventh fairway before calling an early end to his round.

Genesis Invitational: Latest scores

What’s new for Tiger in 2024?

Woods makes ‘indifferent’ start

Cantlay grabs early lead at Riviera

The former world No 1 had his head in his hands as he was taken from the course on a buggy.

Tiger requires IV treatment after leaving course

Highlights from round two of the Genesis Invitational from Riviera Country Club.

Rob McNamara, Woods’ long-time business partner and vice president of TGR Ventures, revealed that the 15-time major champion required an IV after getting dizzy and feeling unwell prior to him calling time on his round.

“So he started feeling some flu-like symptoms last night,” McNamara told reporters. “Woke up this morning, they were worse than the night previous. He had a little bit of a fever and that was better during the warm-up but then when he got out there, and was walking and playing, he started feeling dizzy.

“Ultimately the doctors are saying he’s got some – potentially some type of flu and that he was dehydrated. He’s been treated with an IV bag and he’s doing much, much better.

“Not physical at all, his back’s fine. It was all medical illness, dehydration. Now the symptoms are reversing themselves now that he’s had an IV.”

Woods reflected on his first round at the Genesis Invitational and revealed he had a back spasm during his shanked approach on the last hole of the day

Woods did not speak to the media after his withdrawal and was seen walking out of the clubhouse a couple of hours later, where he was driven away from the course before the second round had been completed.

Davis: Woods can win again if he stays fit

Dame Laura Davies saw enough to believe that Tiger Woods could win a tournament this year despite having to withdraw from the Genesis Invitational

Dame Laura Davis on Sky Sports:

“Tiger obviously knew [he was ill], but didn’t let on because great players like Tiger don’t want excuses. The fact he didn’t feel well overwhelmed him in the end, though he was playing quite nicely, hitting lots of fairways. The good thing is it’s not the back, it’s not the leg.

“When you’re struggling physically anyway, that’s just too much, even for someone like him. He doesn’t want to do long-term damage in not feeling well and making a mess of things out there because of that. Even as good as he is, you don’t want to put big numbers up.

Image:Woods withdrew from the Genesis Invitational

“I actually think, if he had have been fit, he’d have probably made the cut; the cut was one over at the time and he was two over when he had to withdraw.

“All in all, I’d say it’s quite a good result. Having seen him in that buggy, I thought the worst.

“Without a doubt he will win this year – if he stays fit.

“The way we saw him driving it on Thursday, he was scrappy, he dropped five shots – very un-Tiger-like – and he’d already dropped a couple [on Friday before withdrawing].

“If he can drive it like that all the time, we know his irons will come around. They have been a little bit loose. Putting’s been great; he’s still holing those very important five, 10-footers. A lot of them were for pars yesterday and he made them.

“I think, if he is going to be fit – and it looked like the signs for that are good with his body – then I think we’ve got lots to look forward to. Hopefully, he gets over this flu pretty quickly and we’ll see him soon at the Players or Bay Hill.”

The PGA Tour live team take a closer look at Woods’ swing during the Genesis Invitational and how it has evolved over time

What’s next for Woods?

Woods had not played an official event since the Masters last April, where he withdrew during his third round due to injury, although was able to complete 72 holes in December when he finished 18th in a 20-man field at the Hero World Challenge.

His latest mid-tournament withdrawal is his third in his last six official PGA Tour starts, although Woods said last year he was targeting ‘a tournament a month’ in 2024.