Tiger Woods withdraws from Masters due to injury

Five-time champion was seen limping when play was called off on Saturday

Tiger Woods withdrew from The Masters due to injury. Reuters

Tiger Woods was forced to withdrawn from The Masters due to injury on Sunday after completing seven holes of his third round.

Woods made a record-equalling 23rd consecutive halfway cut at Augusta National on Saturday when the delayed second round was completed.

However, the 47-year-old then covered the first seven holes of his third round in six over par to drop to last place of the 54 players to qualify for the last 36 holes.

A brief statement from tournament officials on Sunday read: "Due to injury, Tiger Woods has officially withdrawn from The Masters after completing seven holes of his third round."

Five-time champion Woods was limping down the 17th fairway when play was called off on Saturday due to bad weather.

Woods has been troubled by the effects of a 2021 car accident that nearly cost him his right leg. He had limped through practice rounds early in the week and again during the first and second rounds, but it had become more pronounced as the weather worsened at Augusta.

"I am disappointed to have to WD (withdraw) this morning due to re-aggravating my plantar fasciitis," Woods said on Twitter.

"Thank you to the fans and to The Masters who have shown me so much love and support. Good luck to the players!"

Plantar fasciitis is tissue inflammation that causes pain in the heel.

The 15-time major champion feared his leg would have to be amputated due to the serious injuries he suffered in the car accident in Los Angeles.

He made a remarkable return to action 14 months later and finished 47th in The Masters, but withdrew from the US PGA following a third-round 79 and did not contest the US Open before missing the cut in the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews.

For Woods, who has talked about playing in pain and who operates a minimal tournament schedule, the weather enforced changes meant he would have attempted to play 29 holes on Sunday in order to finish.

Speaking before the cut had been confirmed, Woods said: "I've always loved this golf course, and I love playing this event. Obviously I've missed a couple with some injuries, but I've always wanted to play here.

"I hope I get a chance to play this weekend. I wish I get a chance to play two more rounds."

Earlier, Woods said he wanted to enjoy every moment on a golf course

"I don't know how many more I have in me," Woods had said on Tuesday, "So just (have) to be able to appreciate the time I have here and cherish the memories."

By making the cut, Woods matched The Masters record of Fred Couples and Gary Player with 23 consecutive made cuts.

But Woods, who hasn't missed a Masters cut since 1996 when he was playing as an amateur, made a dreadful start to his third round.

Starting on the 10th hole, Woods made two bogeys before double bogeys on the par-5 15th and par-3 16th left him bottom of the leaderboard on nine-over in total.

Woods captured his fifth green jacket in 2019 when he finished one shot ahead of Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson and Xander Schauffele. It was his first major win in 11 years and, at the age of 43, Woods became the second-oldest player to win the Masters after Jack Nicklaus, who was 46 when he won his sixth green jacket in 1986.

The question now is whether Woods will play the PGA Championship at Oak Hill in May. The US Open is at Los Angeles Country Club in June, not far from where Woods grew up, and The Open is at Royal Liverpool in July.