LOS ANGELES – Tiger Woods' return is over.
Woods withdrew Friday afternoon due to illness from the Genesis Invitational, the event he hosts each year in Southern California and the first official tournament he has competed in since last year's Masters.
After a difficult start to his second round, Woods hit his tee shot on the seventh hole at Riviera Country Club. After hitting his drive and landing on the fairway, Woods jumped into a cart and left the course, signaling the end of his tournament. At one point, while driving back to the clubhouse, he was seen resting his head in his hands.
At that point, Woods was 1-over in his round and 2-over in the tournament.
Tour and rules official Mark Dusbabek then confirmed that Woods had withdrawn due to illness. Woods stopped in the bathroom several times because of his six holes. He was also seen leaning forward on a cooler on the fifth tee, which clearly made him uncomfortable. According to Woods' longtime business partner and manager Rob McNamara, he felt some “flu-like symptoms” after Thursday's round.
“[He] “When I woke up this morning they were worse off than they were the night before,” McNamara said. “He had a little fever and stuff, and he was feeling better during the warmup, but then when he came out and walked and played,” he started feeling dizzy.
“Ultimately the doctors said he had something – possibly some kind of flu, and that he was dehydrated. He was treated with an IV and is doing much, much better and will be released from here on his own soon.”
Woods left the clubhouse alone and got into a vehicle to leave the course shortly after McNamara's comments. An ambulance was called to Riviera due to a “medical request,” but neither Woods nor anyone else was transported in that ambulance.
Tiger Woods withdrew from the Genesis Invitational on Friday afternoon after hitting his drive on the seventh hole at Riviera Country Club. (Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
Gary Woodland, who played with Woods and Justin Thomas, said it was clear early on that Woods was not doing well.
“I saw it, he obviously wasn't himself, just didn't look right,” Woodland said. “I saw that before the round started. It sucks. Obviously everything is better for him there and in his first game back of the tournament and he couldn't come out and finish the way he wanted, that sucks for all of us.”
Woods shot a 1-for-72 on Thursday to open the Genesis Invitational. His first round was incredibly inconsistent throughout, and on the final hole he actually nailed an approach shot that should have been easy. He said he struggled with back spasms during the final stretch of the game, which he attributed to the brutal fusion surgery he underwent on his back in 2017. After withdrawing from the Masters last year, he underwent a second fusion surgery on his ankle. but he said on both Wednesday and Thursday that his ankle wasn't bothering him.
It appeared Woods had no physical pain from his back or foot on Friday before his withdrawal.
“Not physically at all, his back is fine,” McNamara said. “It was all a medical illness, dehydration, and now the symptoms are reversing after he got an IV.”
Patrick Cantlay led the tournament at 10 under the week Woods withdrew, even though Cantlay was only halfway through his second round. Woods was two shots outside the predicted cutline, so he would have needed a strong finish in the back half of his round on Friday to get into the weekend.
Woods has long said he hopes to play in a tournament every month in 2024, which would allow him to compete in all four major championships. In theory, that means Woods will try to compete in either the Arnold Palmer Invitational or the Players Championship next month.
Cantlay had a lead over the rest of the field on Friday afternoon. He backed up his opening-round 64 with a bogey-free 65, putting him at 13 under at the halfway point of the tournament. The Southern California native will enter Sunday with a five-shot lead over the rest of the field.