Tiger Woods Forced to Withdraw From Tournament Due to Back Spasms

Tiger Woods was forced to withdraw from the Omega Dubai Desert Classic on Friday before beginning his second round of play. Woods reportedly suffered a back spasm after having dinner on Thursday night.

His agent, Mark Steinberg, told the media that the injury is a new one and is not related to the nerve problems that have forced Woods to miss tons of time over the last several years. The nerve issues forced Woods to undergo three separate operations, the most recent of which was performed in August of 2015.

Woods was reportedly paid in excess of $1 million to play in the event, which is the first time he has played anywhere in the Middle East in about three years.

Woods’ Poor First Round

He looked terrible in his first round of action on Thursday, shooting a 77 that included five bogeys and zero birdies. That was good for his worst score in the 29 rounds he has played all-time at Emirates Golf Club. He has won twice on this course and finished in the top five on five separate occasions.

Woods did not look completely healthy during the first round, as he often moved gingerly and took particular care with his body when lining up his putts. He made his first appearance of the season last week in San Diego at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. Despite historically performing exceptionally well at Torrey Pines, Woods missed the cut after his first two rounds.

He was unlikely to make the cut in Dubai following his poor first round, so he is likely just missing one day of action. He would have likely needed to shoot 5-under par just in order to make the cut.

Woods Should Not Miss Much Time

Steinberg told reporters that Woods could still move well enough, he was just unable to make the full rotation necessary to swing a golf club. As of now, the injury has a “short-term prognosis” and is hopeful that Woods will “be strong based on the fact that it’s not nerve pain.”

Woods hopes to be healthy enough to play in two weeks at the Genesis Open at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles. Spasms have a way of coming and going, so this should not be a long-term problem.

Fortunately, Woods did not attribute his poor first round to pain. He reported no pain following the opening 18 holes, and the back spasms flared up Thursday night.

History of Recent Withdrawals

Sadly, this is the seventh time Woods has been forced to withdraw from a tournament early due to injuries since 2010, and the third time it has happened before playing the first 36 holes.

The last time Woods was forced to withdraw was during the Farmers Insurance Open two years ago, when the nerve pain knocked him out during the first round of play. Three of those withdrawals were not related to back problems.

The first time he was forced to withdraw because of a back injury was during the Honda Classic in 2014.

If he is not forced to miss any more time with the injury, he will play at the Genesis Open starting February 16 and the Honda Classic in Palm Beach, Florida, the following week.