Tiger Woods has withdrawn from the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in California because of back pain.
Less than a week after the 11 over-par worst round of his career, Woods withdrew after only 11 holes of his first round on Thursday.
The 14-time major champion was two over par when he walked gingerly off the North Course and into a waiting car.
His early departure comes after he shot a career-worst 82 in the second round at Phoenix last week and it’s the third time in his last nine tournaments that Woods has been forced to retire due to his ongoing back problems.
The former world number one was playing in only his second tournament of the season after returning from surgery on a pinched nerve, which saw him miss last year’s Masters and US Open.
He appeared to hurt his back after hitting his tee shot at the 12th – his third hole of the day – but carried on for eight more holes before calling it a day.
His struggles were made more evident as playing partners Rickie Fowler and Billy Horschel were both seen helping him pick his ball out of the holes.
In a brief word with reporters, Woods said his lower back got tight during a fog delay that suspended play for more than two hours.
“My glutes keep shutting off and that causes me pain in my back,” he said.
“It got worse as we stood waiting on the putting green during the delay and I tried warming up my glutes, but it just wasn’t working for me.
“When we went back out, it just got progressively worse.”
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