Tiger Woods, in a 4-sentence statement, explains his stunning Genesis exit

Tiger Woods says he feels better. He says he is resting.

And he also confirmed through a statement on Saturday what had been speculated a day before, when Surprisingly retired from the Genesis Invitational.

He has a cold.

The declaration through their social channels It was only four sentences and it was unclear whether he, as tournament host, would attempt a return to the Genesis during Sunday’s final round. The message was also the latest news in a whirlwind from Woods.

He had been making his first start on the PGA Tour since last April, when withdrew from the Masters, and shot an up-and-under, one-over 72 during Thursday’s first round. He made five birdies. He made six bogeys. He stabbed once. He later attributed the mistake to a back spasm.

On Friday, during the second round of the Genesis, he opened with a birdie. But playing mate Gary Woodland He later admitted that Woods seemed distracted. There were reports that he made several bathroom stops. By the 7th hole, he was done, and PGA Tour rules official Pete Dachisen took him back to the clubhouse.

Uncertainty continued. Mark Dusbabek told Golf Channel viewers that the back pain was not due to his back, but rather due to an illness. An ambulance and two fire trucks showed up at Riviera. Medical professionals came and went from the clubhouse every few minutes. After a while, the fire trucks and ambulance left.

They were later followed by Woods. At approximately 3:40 p.m. local time, Woods left, driven by an official in a red Genesis coupe.

Rob McNamara, Woods’s longtime confidant, posted this Q&A statement via the PGA Tour Communications Team:

Question: “With the WD, was it pure illness? Was it… just explain it?

McNamara: “Yes. So last night you started feeling some flu-like symptoms. I woke up this morning, it was worse than the night before. He had a little fever and stuff, and he was better during the warm-up, but then when he came out and was walking around and playing, he started feeling dizzy. In the end, the doctors say that he has something, potentially some kind of flu, and that he was dehydrated. He has been treated with an IV bag and is much, much better and will soon be discharged here on his own.”

Question “Just to confirm, with all the EMT trucks, you know, everyone, the staff here, everyone thought there was a lot of seriousness going on. So nothing structural as far as the back or the ankle or…”

McNamara: “Right, right. Nothing physical; His back is fine. “It was all a medical illness, dehydration, and now the symptoms are reversing now that they put him on an IV.”

After his round, Woodland said Woods didn’t look “good.”

“I was calmer,” Woodland said. “Obviously it’s cutoff day, we’re all trying to play well, especially the whole group is trying to focus, get up and play well. Yes it was. I feel bad for him, he wasn’t okay. “He was definitely trying to get over it and I hope he’s okay.”

On Saturday, Woods said yes. At 10:15 am local time, his social media accounts shared this:

“I would like to confirm that I had to withdraw from @thegenesisinv due to an illness that we now know is influenza. I’m resting and feeling better. Good luck to the players this weekend. “I’m disappointed not to be there and I want to thank @GenesisUSA and all the fans for the support.”

Nick Piastowski

Golf.com Editor

Nick Piastowski is a senior editor for Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories across the golf space. And when he’s not writing about ways to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native is probably playing, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to clear his score. You can contact him about any of these topics (his stories, his play, or his beers) at nick.piastowski@golf.com.