Tiger Woods sparks fears he could RETIRE as he withdraws from The Masters… hours after he was spotted limping on his surgically-repaired leg after dropping to dead last on the Augusta leaderboard
Tiger Woods has pulled out of The Masters with 29 holes left to play, sparking concern that he may have played his final competitive shot at Augusta National.
The 15-time major winner scraped through to the weekend after making the cut by a single shot, but was battered by the conditions at the start of his third round and he dropped to the bottom of the leaderboard at +9.
Cameras caught him heavily limping during the final moments of Saturday before play was suspended due to the weather conditions, and Woods has now confirmed he will not return to the course on Sunday.
The 47-year-old was set for a grueling fourth day of play in which Masters organizers are set to try and complete both the third and fourth rounds, leaving Woods with 29 holes to contend with.
Fans are now fearing they could have seen the last of him among the azaleas at Augusta, with his potential final moments coming as he limped down the seventh fairway, soaked by the rain and wind.
Tiger Woods has called it a day at The Masters after dropping to the bottom of the leaderboard
The 47-year-old struggled through seven holes of the third round before play was suspended
Just hours earlier, Woods had squeezed through to the third round – thanks in part to his good friend Justin Thomas dropping a shot – marking the 23rd straight Masters tournament that he’d played the weekend.
But it appears completing the full four rounds was too much for Woods’ body to take, with organizers confirming the news in a statement.
It read: ‘Due to injury, Tiger Woods has officially withdrawn from The Masters Tournament after completing seven holes of his third round.’
In his long and successful career, Woods has won The Masters five times, first in 1997 and then as recently as 2019 when his near-miraculous recovery from a car crash ended with him slipping on the green jacket once again.
Many believed he would never walk again, let alone play the game of golf to a high level, and so it came as a huge shock to see him win the tournament again.
Woods still routinely struggles with stiffness and pain in his leg, and has to carefully pick and choose the tournaments in which he plays.
Fans are now fearing they may have seen the last of Woods around the fairways of Augusta
The American would go to nine over par in his third round before play was suspended
Woods though still battled on and attracted the support of many patrons at Augusta National