Tiger Woods carted off Genesis Invitational, forced to withdraw

Tiger Woods was carted off the golf course Friday. | Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

Woods referenced back spasms late Thursday at the Genesis Invitational, and his back pain might be too much to play through.

Tiger Woods’ Genesis Invitational came to a close on the par-4 7th hole Friday.

After hitting his drive into the fairway, Woods hopped into a cart with a rules official, thus signaling a withdrawal from the competition. He was allegedly feeling ill, per Mark Dusbabek of the PGA Tour.

Despite that, over his first six holes, Woods looked uncomfortable, hobbling along while struggling to sustain any momentum after his opening birdie. He made bogeys at the par-3 4th and par-4 5th and then poured in a par putt at the beautiful par-3 6th, which would be his last hole of the day.

His departure from the second round comes one day after Woods hit an uncharacteristic shank on the par-4 18th, which he said stemmed from “back spasms.”

Woods has not completed a 72-hole PGA Tour event since last year’s Genesis Invitational, when he tied for 45th. He needed to withdraw from the 2023 Masters, his last PGA Tour start.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.