Woods pulls out of Masters
Maestro on the mend after back op
WORLD number one Tiger Woods won’t give up on his quest to break Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 majors despite undergoing back surgery which means he will miss the Masters.
Woods withdrew from the April 1013 championship at Augusta National – it will be the first time he has missed golf’s premier tournament – following surgery on Monday to repair a pinched nerve which had been troubling him for several months.
The 38-year-old American, a 14-time Major winner, said on Tuesday: “It also looks like I’ll be forced to miss several upcoming tournaments to focus on my rehabilitation and getting healthy.
“It’s tough right now, but I’m absolutely optimistic about the future.”
Woods, who has triumphed at the Masters four times, will begin intensive rehabilitation within a week, with doctors estimating he could be chipping and putting again in three weeks, and playing again sometime this summer in time for the US and British Opens.
“There are a couple [of] records by two outstanding individuals and players that I hope one day to break. As I’ve said many times, Sam [Snead] and Jack [Nicklaus] reached their milestones over an entire career. I plan to have a lot of years left in mine,” said Woods.
Woods has had a succession of crippling injuries over the last few years to his knees, wrists and now back, the result of employing one of the most dynamic swings in all of golf.
Nicklaus believes Woods will overcome his mounting injury woes.
“I hate to see him robbed of that time by injury. But we all know he is doing what is in the best interest of his health and future,” said Nicklaus.
Woods has endured a nightmare start to a crucial year in his chase to set golf’s major win record.
Last month he withdrew in the final round of the Honda Classic, then battled back spasms to a last-round 78 at Doral and skipped the Arnold Palmer Invitational, typically his last warmup for the first major of the year.
Fellow American Steve Stricker said he was not surprised that Woods chose to have the surgery now.
“A lot of us saw this coming and I had heard that he had been making some decisions about his future, but not just in the next month or two but over the next 10 years,” said Stricker.
Billy Payne, chairman of Augusta National Golf Club, said that Woods would be badly missed.
“We wholeheartedly offered our best wishes for his immediate and long-term recovery,” said Payne.
Woods has played in every Masters since 1995 and has become the tournament’s star turn and biggest draw. The following year, he missed his only cut at Augusta National just a few months prior to turning pro.
In 1997, in his first major championship as a pro, Woods won the Masters by a record 12 shots.
He went on to win the Masters in 2001, 2002 and 2005. — AFP