Doral: A week after he posted the best closing round of his pro career to spur talk of a resurgence, Tiger Woods failed to complete the final round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship on Sunday, casting doubt on his participation in the Masters next month.
The championship was won by England’s Justin Rose, who shot a final round of 70 to finish at 16-under-par. Bubba Watson, who led after 36 and 54 holes, missed a 9-foot birdie putt at No. 18 that would have forced a playoff. He carded a 74 and finished at 15-under after Woods set off alarm bells by withdrawing mid-round with injury.
Woods was three-over par after 11 holes — and six-under for the tournament — when he hit a 321-yard drive on No. 12, a par 5. After the shot, he shook the hand of his playing partner, Webb Simpson, who said Woods told him, “I’ve got to go in.”
The 36-year-old Woods climbed into a cart with his caddie, Joe LaCava, and was taken to the players’ parking lot. He slid into the driver’s side of a four-door black Mercedes and, with LaCava in the passenger seat, drove away. On his way out of the parking lot, Woods stopped long enough to tell a PGA Tour spokesman that he had a left leg injury.
Later he released a statement that said: “I felt tightness in my left Achilles’ while warming up this morning and it continued to get progressively worse. After hitting my tee shot at 12, I decided it was necessary to withdraw. In the past, I may have tried to continue to play, but this time I decided to do what I thought was necessary.”
It is the third time in less than two years that Woods has failed to complete a round because of an injury. He pulled out of last year’s Players Championship after nine holes when he re-injured his left knee and Achilles’ tendon. A neck injury prompted him to withdraw during the final round of the 2010 Players Championship.
Woods said he would have his Achilles’ tendon evaluated. Simpson, who carded a five-over 77 to finish tied for 35th at four under, said, “I don’t think it’s anything serious, but you know, we didn’t talk or anything, so I’m not sure exactly what it was.”
Simpson added: “You could tell he was hurting. He didn’t say a whole lot, but his expression was enough that, you know, he was in enough pain to end it.” Woods and Simpson were playing in the group directly ahead of Johnson Wagner and Rory McIlroy, who ascended to No. 1 with a victory at last week’s Honda Classic.
NY Times News Service
