All that’s missing now from the Tiger Woods saga is a bloke in a bunnet shuffling around with a sandwich board and glumly proclaiming that the end is nigh.
It’s not looking good for poor old Tiger. After his golfing comeback was aborted in just the second event of a four-tournament run last weekend, the former world No 1 has announced that he will not compete in his next two scheduled events due to back spasms that caused him to withdraw from the Dubai Desert Classic after just 18 holes.
In a statement on his website, Woods said he will miss next week's Genesis Open and The Honda Classic a week later. "My doctors have advised me not to play the next two weeks, to continue my treatment and to let my back calm down," Woods said. "This is not what I was hoping for or expecting. I am extremely disappointed to miss the Genesis Open, a tournament that benefits my foundation, and The Honda Classic, my hometown event. I would like to thank Genesis for their support, and I know we will have an outstanding week."
Woods plans to determine his playing schedule going forward after his back is reassessed but this setback is a huge blow for Woods’s latest and most ambitious attempt at a comeback. He was planning to play four events in a rigorous five-week stretch as he strived to regain his competitive edge but he has simply not been up to the task physically and has managed only three competitive rounds without breaking par.
During his visit to Dubai, Woods admitted that he is resigned to a life of pain from the multiple operations he has had on his back and knee. “I feel good, not great,” said Woods. “I don’t think I’ll ever feel great because it’s three back surgeries and four knee operations. 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 enough level, I’m fine with that.”
On the basis of this latest development, Woods’s golfing future continues to look decidedly bleak.
On the European Tour, meanwhile, it was something of a bleak day for Scotsman, Marc Warren, has he toppled off the top of the leaderboard during the second round of the Maybank Championship. The 35-year-old had been setting the pace after a sparkling 63 – the lowest round of his career on tour – but he slithered backwards yesterday with a 75 that included a triple-bogey seven on the ninth. Warren was heading into the weekend on the six-under 138 mark, six strokes behind Austrian leader, Bernd Wiesberger, who reeled off an incredible nine birdies in a row in a 63 to claim a one-shot lead over Masters champion Danny Willett.
Wiesberger was level par for his round after six holes but birdied the next three to reach the turn in 33 and followed that with six more on the back nine, the longest coming from around 25 feet on the 15th. The European Tour record for birdies in succession is eight, but Wiesberger's effort will not earn him a place in the record books due to the preferred lies in operation. Scottish duo, David Drysdale and Richie Ramsay, both missed the cut on a 144 and a 145 respectively.
On the Ladies European Tour, Carly Booth was the pick of the Scots in a share of 14th at the Oates Vic Open in Australia. Booth posted a five-under 68 for a six-under 140 and was six strokes behind Danish leader, Nicole Broch Larsen.
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