LOS ANGELES – Tiger Woods' comeback is over.
Woods withdrew from The Genesis Invitational, the event he hosts every year in Southern California and the first state tournament he has played since last year's Masters, on Friday afternoon due to illness.
Woods hit his tee shot on the seventh hole at Riviera Country Club after a rough start in his second round. After crashing his car and landing in the fairway, Woods jumped into a cart and left the fairway, signaling the end of the tournament. He was seen putting his head in his hands at some point during the trip back to the club.
At that time, Woods had edged once on tour and twice in the tournament.
Tour and rules official Mark Dusbabek then confirmed that Woods had withdrawn due to illness. Woods stopped entering the bathroom several times through his six holes. He was also spotted hunched over and leaning on the radiator at the fifth tee box, clearly uncomfortable. According to Woods' longtime partner and manager, Rob McNamara, he began feeling some “flu-like symptoms” after Thursday's round.
“[He] “I woke up this morning, and they were worse than the night before. He had a little bit of a fever, and he was better during the warm-up, but then when he got out there and he was walking and playing,” McNamara said. He started to feel dizzy.
“After all, the doctors say he's got some kind of flu, and he was probably dehydrated. He's been treated with an IV bag and is doing much better. He'll be released on his own here soon.”
Woods exited the clubhouse alone and got into a car to leave the course shortly after McNamara's comments. An ambulance was called to Riviera on a “medical request,” but neither Woods nor anyone else was transported away in that ambulance.
Woods posted a statement on social media on Saturday morning confirming that he was withdrawing due to what is now known to be the flu, and that he was feeling better.
I would like to confirm that I had to withdraw from @thegenesisinv Because the disease we now know is influenza. I relax and feel better. Good luck to the players this weekend. I'm disappointed not to be there and I want to thank you @GenesisUSA And all lovers…
– Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) February 17, 2024
Gary Woodland, who was playing with Woods and Justin Thomas, said it was clear early on that Woods wasn't in good shape.
“I saw it, and it clearly wasn't himself, and he didn't look right,” Woodland said. “I saw it before the tour started. It sucks. Obviously everything was better with him there and for him in his first tournament back and not being able to come out and finish the match the way he wanted to, that's bad for all of us.”
Woods shot a 1-over 72 to open the Genesis Invitational on Thursday. His first round was incredibly inconsistent all the way through, and he actually hit what should have been an easy putt on the final hole. He said that he was suffering from back spasms during the last period of playing, which he attributed to the brutal fusion operation he underwent on his back in 2017. He underwent a second fusion operation on his ankle after withdrawing from the Masters tournament last year. But he said Wednesday and Thursday that his ankle wasn't bothering him.
Woods did not appear to be experiencing any physical pain in his back or foot on Friday before his withdrawal.
“Not physical at all, his back is fine,” McNamara said. “It was all medical illness, dehydration, and now the symptoms are starting to reverse after he got an IV.”
Patrick Cantlay was leading the tournament by 10 under the week Woods retired, even though Cantlay was only halfway through his second round. Woods was two shots outside the projected line, so he needed a strong finish in the back half of his round on Friday to make it to the weekend.
Woods has long said he hopes to play in approximately one tournament every month in 2024, which would allow him to compete in all four major championships. In theory, that would mean Woods would try to compete in the Arnold Palmer Invitational or The Players Championship next month.
Cantlay flew ahead of the rest of the field on Friday afternoon. He backed up his opening round of 64 with a bogey-free 65, putting him to 13 under midway through the tournament. The Southern California native will enter Sunday with a five-shot lead over the rest of the field.