Tiger Woods' second tournament of 2015 proved to be worse than his first. Thursday, Woods withdrew from the Farmers Insurance Open.
A so-so start to Woods' play at one of his favorite course was marred on the third hole when he appeared to injury his back . It was a similar injury that derailed Woods' 2014 season.
Play Thursday was delayed by fog, and Woods believes that contributed to his problem
"It tightened up during the suspensions and it never loosened back up again," Woods told reporters. "It just got progressively tighter.
" … It's frustrating that it started shutting down like that. I was ready to go. I had a good warm up session."
The injury was too much for him to handle, and he quit on the 12th hole. Woods was at 2-over par through 11 holes, deep on the congested leader board. His back pain was so severe he couldn't bend over to pick up his tee following one of his drives.
MORE: Tiger's awful chip | Farmers Insurance Open leaderboard
That's Billy Horschel picking up Woods' tee. They were grouped with Rickie Fowler.
His struggles were highlighted during a horrible chip shot attempt earlier in the day. He was seen wincing when he swung and was clearly not 100 percent. It's not clear what the future holds for Woods at this point.
Torrey Pines is among Woods' favorite courses. He had won eight times on the San Diego facility, including the 2008 U.S. Open.
Woods said the delay of more than two hours proved impossible to overcome.
"Then I got cold standing out there and everything started deactivating again. It's frustrating that I just can't stay active. That's just the way it is.
"We usually don't have to wait like this back home practicing. You can keep going and going. My glutes are shutting off and they don't activate."
But Woods hasn't been good since returning from 2014's back surgery. He failed to make the cut last week at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, finishing with an 82 in his second round. And on Wednesday, Woods was seen trying to correct a severe flaw in his chipping, with little success.
A case of the yips in his short game is one thing. Woods' back problem could derail all further plans ahead of the Masters. It's clear he needs work on his game, but he has told observers he can't put the time into golf he did as a rising star. Family considerations and fallout from his personal issues and divorce from Elin Nordegren combine with ailments to rob Woods of his competitive edge.
Since the start of 2014, Woods has finished two final rounds. Thursday was is eighth withdrawal in 204 starts.
At best, Woods rests and recovers before playing a few tournaments before Augusta. At worst, Woods will no longer be a contender in the PGA.
Contributing: USA Today ,
