Legendary golfer Tiger Woods makes bold claim on his decision to continue playing golf following Genesis Invitational Withdrawal

Golf was in shock when Tiger Woods was forced to withdraw after just six holes of the second round in his first official tournament in 10 months on Friday.

He had a little bit of 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,” he said.

“He’s been treated with an IV bag and he’s doing much, much better.”

Thus was completed  – or maybe not – another remarkable week in the story of the 15-time major champion. It began in Tinsel Town with the launch of Woods’s new clothing partnership with TaylorMade, after he and Nike had split after their 27-year iconic relationship.

The “Sun Day Red” brand has been pilloried in many quarters – mainly because of the moniker being split into three words – but Woods seemed in exultant mood when attending the glitzy Monday unveiling.

He said; You can win all the tournaments you want, but the majors are what you’re remembered for. It’s how you’re measured as a champion in our sport. The majors are where it’s at. Winning is not always the barometer of getting better.

It’s the right time in my life,” Woods said. “It’s transitional. I’m not a kid any more. I want to have a brand I’m proud of going forward.

“Sunday red – it’s me,’ he said. “It started with my mom [Kultilda]. She thought being a Capricorn that my power colour was red, so I wore red as a junior golfer and I won some tournaments. Lo and behold, I go to a university that is red, Stanford is red. We wore red on the final day of every single tournament, and then every single tournament I’ve played as a professional I’ve worn red. It’s just become synonymous with me.”

Inspiring stuff and in Wednesday’s press conference, Woods reprised his press conferences of old when he said that “only a W” would satisfy him at his home tournament. Nobody believed him. Not only was he rusty after all in the inaction, but he is clearly an old golfer with multiple handicaps. As shown in the first round.

Woods hit the perhaps the most spectacular shank on Thursday and he put the blame firmly on the spinal condition. When asked to account for the spasm, he curtly replied: “Because my back’s fused. My back was spasming the last couple holes and it was locking up. But that’s just part of the deal, and I look forward to the challenge.”

The risky procedure in 2017 handed Woods an extended golf life but clearly reduced flexibility in his swing.  Countless golfing obits were written when he limped out of Augusta last year – and, indeed, a fortnight later when he underwent another operation on the right leg that he so almost lost in a car crash just under three years ago.

During that time, there was little hope beyond Woods being able to participate in some major tournaments.   However, Woods recently stated that he believes he is in good enough physical condition to compete in a tournament every month next year.  

Although Woods managed to make the cut at the 2023 Masters, he had to withdraw before finishing the third round due to plantar fasciitis and subsequently underwent ankle surgery that same month.  

Woods came back to the golf scene at the end of November by participating in the unofficial PGA Tour event called the Hero World Challenge, which had a small field and no cuts.   

Mark Dusbabek, the official of the tour, verified that Woods had pulled out of the event due to illness.   In addition to his usual breaks for the bathroom, he was seen hunched over on the fifth tee.   Dusbabek informed Golf Channel that Woods was unwell and not feeling his best.   

Rory McIlroy had finished his round with a score of two-under after a stellar 66. He has the opportunity to surpass Scottie Scheffler and claim the top spot in the rankings on Sunday. However, he is still regretting the disastrous end to his first round, where he lost six shots in the final eight holes.