Tiger Woods had hoped his return to the PGA Tour would’ve gone better, or at least longer.
Woods was forced to withdraw Friday in the middle of his round at the Genesis Invitational after battling “an illness.”
The 48-year-old confirmed in a statement Saturday that he was dealing with “influenza” and his symptoms were now improving.
“I would like to confirm that I had to withdraw from @thegenesisinv due to illness, which we now know is influenza,” Woods wrote on X. “I am resting and feeling better. Good luck to the players this weekend. I’m disappointed to not be there and want to thank @GenesisUSA and all the fans for the support.”
Woods was playing in his first-full fledged PGA Tour event since last year’s Masters, which he was forced to withdraw from as well.
He subsequently had surgery to fuse bones in his right ankle and missed the rest of the majors in 2023.
He did, however, make a comeback for the Hero World Challenge — which he hosted in the Bahamas — and played all four rounds, finishing 18th in the field of 20 golfers.
But the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles marked a return to a full field, and Woods shot a 1-over 72 in the first round.
He was 1-over again in round 2 when he took a tee shot on the seventh hole and appeared to wince and he was eventually carted off the course by a rules official, officially ending his run in the tournament.
A Los Angeles Fire Department ambulance awaited him outside the clubhouse, but Woods did not come out, and eventually, the ambulance — with an empty stretcher — and two fire trucks left without the 15-time major winner.
Woods later walked out under his own power and was driven off.
Woods’ business partner Rob McNamara said Friday that the golfer’s decision to leave the invitational was all due to the flu and had nothing to do with any pain.
“Not physical at all,’’ McNamara said. “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.’’
Since a car crash after the 2021 Genesis Invitational, Woods has competed in six 72-hole PGA Tour events and has been able to complete just two of them.
