Tiger Woods withdrew from the Masters Tournament before play resumed for the third round due to injury on Sunday, a denouement that will prevent him, for the first time in his professional career, from completing the 72 holes of a tournament he started on the Augusta National course.
Tournament organizers announced about 90 minutes before play resumed that Woods, who is still struggling with the effects of a car crash he was involved in in 2021 that nearly led to the amputation of his right leg, had withdrawn.
The five-time Masters champion had been seen limping during practice rounds earlier in the week and then again during rounds one and two. The lameness had become more evident as the weather deteriorated.
“I am disappointed to be forced to withdraw this morning due to further worsening of my plantar fasciitis,” Woods wrote on Twitter.
“Thank you to the fans and organizers of the Masters Tournament who have shown me so much love and support. Good luck to the players today! »
In pouring, cold rain Saturday morning, Woods narrowly avoided the ax after the second round with a cumulative score of 147 (74-73), three strokes over par and just outside the qualifying threshold.
Suddenly, he had obtained his ticket for the two final rounds in Augusta for a 23e back-to-back, tying the tournament record shared by South African Gary Player and American Fred Couples.
Wearing a gray tuque that he had donned over a baseball cap, Woods returned to the course for the start of the third round shortly after 1 p.m. Saturday, as the temperature struggled to reach the 10 degree mark. Celsius.
The illustrious golfer started the round at 10e hole, where he committed a bogey, then another at 14e hole. He then suffered two consecutive double bogeys, out of the 15e and 16e greens, after having sent his ball into the water on each of these two holes.
It was the first time Woods had scored back-to-back double bogeys at the Masters.
When play was halted at Augusta National due to driving rain at 3:15 p.m. Saturday afternoon, the 47-year-old golfer was plus-9, alone in last place among players who had advanced to the third round. . He was then 22 strokes behind the leader, Brooks Koepka.
“I’ve always loved this course, and I love coming to this event,” Woods said after completing his second round on Saturday.
“Of course, I missed it because of injuries, but I always wanted to play here. I loved it. »
Woods also pulled out before the final round of the PGA Championship last year due to what his agent, Mark Steinberg, described as pain and discomfort in his right foot.
The move was announced hours after Woods returned a 79 on the Southern Hills course in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in weather conditions similar to Saturday’s in Augusta. In the second round, he had shot 69.
Woods donned the fifth Green Jacket of his career in 2019, when he won by one stroke ahead of Koepka, Dustin Johnson and Xander Schauffele. It was his first triumph at a major tournament in 11 years.
Also, at the age of 43, he became the second oldest golfer to win the Masters Tournament after Jack Nicklaus, who was 46 when he won his sixth Augusta National triumph in 1986.
Injuries forced Woods to stick to a very limited schedule — majors and a few other targeted events.
In February, at the Genesis Invitational Tournament, he played two rounds under 70 and finished tied at 45e rank. However, he skipped the Bay Hill Tournament and The Players Championship in order to be healthy and ready to return to Augusta National.
Woods had played in the tournament last year in Augusta and had identical 78 cards in the third and fourth rounds.
The question now is whether Woods will compete in the PGA Championship at Oak Hill in May. The US Open will follow in June at the Los Angeles Country Club, not too far from where he grew up, and the British Open will be held in July at Royal Liverpool.
“Yeah, the mobility is not where I would like it to be. I told you before, I’m very lucky to have this leg; it’s mine. Yeah, it’s been modified and there’s a bit of metal in it, but it’s still mine,” Woods told reporters.
“It was difficult and it will always be difficult. My leg capacity and endurance will never be the same again. I understand that. That’s why I can’t prepare for and participate in as many tournaments as I would like, but that’s my future and that’s okay. I’m comfortable with that. »