Tiger Woods ‘feels terrible’ after pulling out of the Dubai Desert Classic with back spasms after one round of 77
- Former World No1 complains of back injury after worst ever performance in Dubai
- Woods was paid £1.6million just to appear in event he won twice before at his peak
TIGER Woods has sensationally pulled out of the Dubai Desert Classic with more back trouble after just one disastrous round of 77.
The former world No1 - who has slumped to No666 in the world rankings - is being paid £1.6million just to appear in the event he has won twice.
However after hitting his worst ever round at Dubai with a 77 on Thursday, he pulled out on Friday morning with a back injury - meaning he has trousered £20,779 for each shot he hit.
Woods, 41, has played just three competitive rounds since undergoing a third operation on his back and taking 18 months off to recuperate.
His conviction that the problems caused by a trapped nerve in his spine were finally over looked cruelly over-optimistic as he suffered a severe back spasm
That was his worst score at a course where he was won twice in the past. But the agonies he suffered on the course were nothing compared to what came later.
Woods tried to put a brave face on things, saying the pain was in a different area of his back to one that required surgery.
But the fact that the problem has flared up again, despite three operations and a painstaking recovery process, means his prospects of playing at the top level again look hopeless.
He says it's his back, he just can't get the spasm to calm down. He feels terrible about it
Mark Steinberg
Woods underwent intensive physiotherapy in an attempt to tee it up in the second round, but his agent, Mark Steinberg, said he was forced to admit defeat.
Steinberg said: "Tiger felt okay coming off the golf course yesterday He wasn't in pain but he went into a spasm in his lower back, fairly late last night after dinner.
"He tried to work it out last night, but it didn't really get sorted and he had more treatment pretty early this morning, for probably three and a half hours, and he can't get the spasm eased.
"He says it's not the nerve pain that's kept him out for so long. He says it's his back, he just can't get the spasm to calm down. He feels terrible about it.
"He talked to the guys he was playing with Danny Willett and Matthew Fitzpatrick and told them he feels awful about not fulfilling is commitment to the tournament.
"He can move around. He can't make a full rotation on the swing. I think spasms are a funny thing.
"I'm certainly no doctor but they come and go. And the fact that he feels as though it's not the same nerve pain, that's very encouraging for him.”
At times during the first round, Woods appeared to be in distress, walking tentatively and being careful when lining up putts.
When questioned about any pain after his round, Woods told reporters: ‘I was in no pain at all, I was trying to hit shots and I just wasn’t doing a very good job.’
Woods, 41, is attempting to return after struggling with injuries for two years.
This was just his third tournament start since returning from more than a year following two back surgeries in 2015.
But the 14-time Major champion's latest stab at a comeback in Dubai could hardly have gone any worse.
Woods' opening round of 77 was notable for a stream of four-letter expletives as his frustration at another feeble flop boiled over.
He shocked spectators around the third green by loudly yelling “f**k” when he wafted an eight foot putt wide of the target, and he was at it again two holes later as he three-putted for one of his five bogeys.
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Woods’ had shot par or better 25 times in his previous 28 rounds at the Emirates GC, and was a combined 92 under par for his seven visits, winning in 2006 and 2008.
After his round, Woods said he was not in any pain on the course but decided to withdraw on Friday morning, trailing overnight leader Sergio Garcia by 12 shots.
Woods had also looked rusty last week when he played his first full-field PGA Tour event in 17 months after being sidelined by back pain and spine surgery, and missed the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.
Woods is paid an appearance fee of around £1.6million when he plays in tournaments that are not sanctioned by the US PGA Tour.
The American was due to pick up another massive fee to play at the Turkish Airlines Open last November but pulled out with injury.
Woods is scheduled to play at the Genesis Open in Los Angeles in two weeks followed by the Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
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