Tiger Woods, the legendary golfer, has withdrawn from The Genesis Invitational due to illness. This comes as a disappointment to fans who were eagerly awaiting his return to the tournament, which he hosts each year in Southern California. Woods’ last official tournament was the Masters in 2020, and this was supposed to be his comeback event.
The withdrawal occurred during Woods’ second round at the Riviera Country Club. After a rough start, he hit his tee shot on the seventh hole and then left the course in a cart, signaling the end of his tournament. Witnesses saw him putting his head in his hands during the ride back to the clubhouse, clearly showing his frustration.
It was later confirmed by Tour and rules official Mark Dusbabek that Woods had withdrawn due to an illness. Throughout his six holes, Woods made multiple visits to the bathroom and was seen bent over and leaning on a cooler at the fifth tee box, clearly uncomfortable. According to his longtime business partner and manager Rob McNamara, Woods started experiencing flu-like symptoms after Thursday’s round.
“He woke up this morning, they were worse than the night previous,” McNamara said. “He had a little bit of a fever and that, and was better during the warm-up, but then when he got out there and was walking and playing, he started feeling dizzy.”
Medical professionals suspect that Woods may have contracted some form of flu and was also dehydrated. He received treatment with an IV bag and is said to be doing much better. After McNamara’s comments, Woods left the clubhouse on his own and got into a vehicle to leave the course. Although an ambulance was called to Riviera due to a “medical request,” neither Woods nor anyone else was transported away in it.
Gary Woodland, who was playing with Woods and Justin Thomas, noticed early on that something was off with Woods. “I saw it, he obviously wasn’t himself, just didn’t look right,” Woodland said. “Saw that before the round started. It sucks. Obviously everything’s better with him there, and for him, for his first tournament back, and he couldn’t come out and finish the way he wanted to, that sucks for all of us.”
Woods’ first round at The Genesis Invitational on Thursday was inconsistent, and he posted a 1-over 72. He struggled with back spasms during the round, which he attributed to the fusion procedure he underwent in 2017. Despite undergoing a second fusion procedure on his ankle after withdrawing from the Masters last year, Woods stated that his ankle wasn’t bothering him on Wednesday and Thursday.
Before his withdrawal, there didn’t appear to be any physical pain affecting Woods. McNamara clarified, “Not physical at all, his back’s fine. It was all medical illness, dehydration, which is now the symptoms are reversing themselves now that he’s had an IV.”
At the time of his withdrawal, Woods was two shots outside of the projected cutline. To make it into the weekend, he would have needed a strong finish in the back half of his round on Friday. Unfortunately, his illness prevented him from continuing.
Despite this setback, Woods remains determined to compete in future tournaments. He has expressed his goal of playing in about one tournament each month in 2024, which would allow him to participate in all four major championships. In the near future, Woods may try to compete in either the Arnold Palmer Invitational or The Players Championship next month.
As Woods exits The Genesis Invitational, Patrick Cantlay takes the lead in the tournament. He was at 10-under when Woods withdrew, and he continued to impress with a bogey-free 65 in his second round, bringing him to 13-under at the midway point of the event. Cantlay, a Southern California native, will enter Sunday with a five-shot lead over the rest of the field.
Although Woods’ withdrawal is disappointing for fans and players alike, the focus now shifts to the remaining competitors and their pursuit of victory at The Genesis Invitational.
