Woods again says no to playing in Masters

For the third time in four years, Tiger Woods won’t play in the Masters.

“I did about everything I could to play, but my back rehabilitation didn’t allow me the time to get tournament ready,” Woods said Friday on his website, six days before the opening round.

Woods said there was no timetable for his return.

He withdrew from the Dubai Desert Classic in early February after shooting a 77, citing back spasms. Since then, he has sat out his own tournament at Riviera, the Honda Classic and the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Woods missed the Masters for the first time in 2014 because of the first of three surgeries on his back. He played in 2015, tying for 17th. LPGA Tour: Suzann Pettersen finished her wind-delayed first round with a 4under-par 68 and added a second-round 69 at the ANA Inspiration in Rancho Mirage (Riverside County), taking a one-shot lead over six players after two shortened days at the LPGA Tour’s first major of the year.

After an early end to Thursday’s play and a late start Friday for cleanup from the windstorm, play was halted by darkness with 56 players still on the course. They will complete their second round Saturday morning.

Rookie Nelly Korda, 18, shot a second-round 69 to stand one shot behind Pettersen.

Redwood City’s Lucy Li, 14, was 1 under for the tournament after eight holes in the second round. Thursday, she shot a 71. PGA Tour: Sung Kang shot a 9-under 63 to take a six-shot lead at the Houston Open in Humble, Texas.

Kang was at 16-under 128 through two rounds, besting by one shot the 36-hole tournament record set by Curtis Strange in 1980 and matched by Blaine McCallister in 1993.

Hudson Swafford and Russell Henley were at 10-under after both shot 5-under 67s.

Champions Tour: Joe Durant shot a 6-under 66 for a oneshot lead after the first round of the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic in Biloxi .

Defending champion Miguel Angel Jimenez, Scott Hoch, Lee Janzen and Jay Haas were tied for second at 67. John Daly shot a 69.