Outlook bleak for Woods as his bad back ends latest com eback
ALL that’s missing now from the Tige r Woods saga is a bloke in a bunne t shuffling around with a sandwich board and glumly proclaiming that the e nd is nigh.
It’s not looking good for poor old Tige r. Afte r his golfing come back was aborte d in just the se cond e ve nt of a four-tourname nt run last we e ke nd, the forme r world No.1 has announce d he will not compe te in his ne xt two sche dule d e ve nts due to back spasms that cause d him to withdraw from the Dubai De se rt Classic afte r just 18 hole s.
In a state me nt on his we bsite , Woods said he will miss ne xt we e k’s Ge ne sis Ope n and The Honda Classic a we e k late r. “My doctors have advise d me not to play the ne xt two we e ks, to continue my tre atme nt and to le t my back calm down,” Woods said.
“This is not what I was hoping for or e xpe cting. I am e xtre me ly disappointe d to miss the Ge ne sis Ope n, a tourname nt that be ne fits my foundation, and the Honda Classic, my home town e ve nt. I would like to thank Ge ne sis for the ir support, and I know we will have an outstanding we e k.”
Woods plans to de te rmine his future playing sche dule afte r his back is re asse sse d but this se tback is a huge blow for Woods’s late st and most ambitious atte mpt at a come back. He was planning to play four e ve nts in a rigorous five -we e k stre tch as he strive d to re gain his compe titive e dge , but he has simply not be e n up to the task physically and has manage d only thre e compe titive rounds – without bre aking par.
During his visit to Dubai, Woods admitte d that he is re signe d to a life of pain from the multiple ope rations he has had on his back and kne e . “I fe e l good, not gre at,” he said “I don’t think I’ll e ve r fe e l gre at be cause it’s thre e back surge rie s and four kne e ope rations. I’m always going to be a little bit sore , that’s just the way it is. As long as I can function at a good e nough le ve l, I’m fine with that.”
On the basis of this late st de ve lopme nt, Woods’s golfing future continue s to look de cide dly ble ak.
On the Europe an Tour, me anwhile , it was some thing of a ble ak day for Scotsman, Marc Warre n, has he topple d off the top of the le ade rboard during the se cond round of the Maybank Championship. The 35-ye ar-old had be e n se tting the pace afte r a sparkling 63 – the lowe st round of his care e r on tour – but he slithe re d backwards ye ste rday with a 75 that include d a triple -boge y se ve n on the ninth. Warre n was he ading into the we e ke nd on the six-unde r 138 mark, six stroke s be hind Austrian le ade r, Be rnd Wie sbe rge r, who re e le d off an incre dible nine birdie s in a row in a 63 to hold a one -shot le ad ove r Maste rs champion Danny Wille tt.
Wie sbe rge r was le ve l par for his round afte r six hole s but birdie d the ne xt thre e to re ach the turn in 33 and followe d that with six more on the back nine , the longe st coming from around 25 fe e t on the 15th. The Europe an Tour re cord for birdie s in succe ssion is e ight, but Wie sbe rge r’s e ffort will not e arn him a place in the re cord books be cause of the pre fe rre d lie s in ope ration. Scottish duo, David Drysdale and Richie Ramsay, both misse d the cut on a 144 and a 145 re spe ctive ly.