Share this Story: MCCARTHY: Tiger's out, what does it mean? MCCARTHY: Tiger's out, what does it mean? Article content There’s no word for something that’s both unexpected and expected. I know because I tried to find one. But this isn’t the first time Tiger Woods has left us at a loss for words. Woods announced in a tweet Monday that he would miss this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational because of a neck strain. As if reading our minds, he answered everyone’s first question in the same tweet. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or MCCARTHY: Tiger's out, what does it mean? Back to video “My lower back is fine, and I have no long-term concerns.” Woods has never been one to share more information than he has to, but even he realizes things are different this time around. Over the past year-and-a-half, the golf legend has been embraced like never before, lifted by his competitors, propelled by the entire sports world as he tries to do the unthinkable and reach the top of the mountain. One. Last. Time. The 14-time major champion has played 23 tournaments since returning from spinal fusion surgery in the fall of 2017. With a win at the 2018 Tour Championship, a runner up at last year’s PGA Championship, and nine top 10s, his comeback has already been a resounding success. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content But we want more. Nothing is ever enough from Woods, and it’s his own fault. His fault for always exceeding our wildest expectations. Win the U.S. Open by 15 shots? OK. Tiger Slam? Sure. Get to No. 1 with four different golf swings? Why not. Fix the chipping yips in a month and go to the Masters? WTF. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or A ninth win at Bay Hill this week was a legitimate possibility. His iron game this year has looked as great as ever, giving us a bunker shot at the WGC Mexico Championship to rival his all-timer at the Canadian Open in 2000. Although some have criticized his conservative strategy off the tee at Club de Golf Chapultepec two weeks ago, it was Tiger stubbornly sticking with a plan and focusing on scoring. Playing golf rather than playing golf swing, and in that mode a win is never far away for Woods. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content His stats largely backed up what we saw, he was ready. Except for his putting. And this was the week we were supposed to get some answers there. At both the Genesis Open at Riviera and then in Mexico, Woods couldn’t get anything going on the greens. Back-to-back weeks with six three-putts was something he hadn’t done since 1997. But the Poa greens on both courses are bumpy at times. This week, back in his home state of Florida on Bermuda grass, we’d finally have gotten a better idea if the putting problems were real. Woods hadn’t shown any signs of physical problems this year, which made another part of Monday’s tweet stand out. His message said, “due to a neck strain that I’ve had for a few weeks,” which was surprising. We have seen Woods stretching his neck out in years past, or teeing off covered in physio tape, but there had been nothing of the sort recently. Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content The Genesis Open three weeks ago was a cold, wet, gruelling tournament. With a seven-hour rain delay on Thursday, and a nearly 54-hole weekend, it was a test for even the youngest of players. Woods dropped four shots over his final nine holes that week and admitted being worn out. You have to wonder if that’s where the trouble began and whether the late decision to play the next week in Mexico was a mistake. Woods said in the tweet that he hopes to play next week in the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, a tournament he’s won twice. Two weeks after that is the WGC Dell Match Play, and then it’s just two more until the Masters. The plan all along was to play a lighter schedule this season than last, when he played 19 times. If this injury is minor perhaps the rest will do him good later in the summer because the end goal of this comeback was never a ninth win at Bay Hill. The worry is that this isn’t just a simple neck strain. There was a time when you couldn’t trust anything Tiger said. For all he showed us on the golf course, he was a closed book off of it. Over the past few years though, Tiger has opened up. This kinder, softer version is easier to believe, but now we are being asked to trust him about his health, the most closely guarded secret of any athlete. Tiger says he has “no long term concerns.” All we can do is wait. One way or another, he’ll leave us speechless again. Share this article in your social network Latest National Stories Advertisement Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The Toronto Sun Headline News Sign up to receive daily headline news from the Toronto SUN, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. Email Address There was an error, please provide a valid email address. By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You may unsubscribe any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300 Thanks for signing up! A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it please check your junk folder. The next issue of The Toronto Sun Headline News will soon be in your inbox. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again Trending<doc-sep>Beyond the metaphorical, the trajectory is backed up by the facts. It seemed anomalous for him to make it through 2018 without any major injury scare after battling his body for years, and the realistic conclusion was that his body was on borrowed time. Now, we see some comeuppance, though it's unclear yet how severe it might be. In any case, as I found recently, wins begin to get scarce at this age for even the best golfers—would you believe that if Phil Mickelson won another major, he'd be the oldest champion ever?—and with exactly one win in the last five years and change, Tiger doesn't seem likely to throw his hat in the ring with Phil or Sam Snead or Fred Funk or any of the greatest old man golfers in the sport's history.<doc-sep>
Tiger Woods has withdrawn from the Arnold Palmer Invitational this week at Bay Hill. Woods made the announcement Monday via Twitter, citing a neck strain that is unrelated to his series of back injuries that threatened to end his brilliant playing career. Woods made it clear his hope is to return to action at next week’s Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, even if fans were alarmed. Woods said he has “been receiving treatment, but it hasn’t improved enough to play,” adding, “My lower back is fine, and I have no long-term concerns, and I hope to be ready for the Players.” Last year, Woods tied for fifth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, an event he’s won eight times. Woods, 43, returned to competitive golf in December 2017 after April spinal fusion surgery, the fourth procedure he’s had on his back, and he hasn’t missed a tournament round he was scheduled to play since. He played in 18 tournaments last year, winning the Tour Championship for his 80th PGA Tour title, and he played in the Ryder Cup. He has elevated his world ranking to No. 12. Including his own event in December, the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, Woods has played three times in the 2019 season — the Farmers Insurance Open, Genesis Open and WGC-Mexico Championship, where he tied for 10th on Feb. 24. Woods played a full schedule last year for the first time since 2015 and contended in the last two majors, tying for sixth at the British Open and finishing second at the PGA Championship. Woods recently announced he was going to play Bay Hill and The Players Championship before deciding on where to play afterward. Assuming his neck strain isn’t serious or a lingering issue, with this week now off his schedule, it’s possible Woods could add the Valspar Championship, at which he finished runner-up last year. It’s been presumed that Woods would skip the Valspar and play the WGC-Dell Match Play Championship in three weeks before the Masters, which begins April 11. Now it’s possible he might play both if healthy.