Tiger Woods pulls out of the Arnold Palmer Invitational tournament with a neck strain as the former No. 1 golfer tries to recapture his top form after a disappointing 10th place finish in Mexico

  • Woods will not play at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill on Thursday 
  • The golfer, 43,  announced on Twitter that he is suffering from a neck strain 
  • Tiger says the neck strain has been nagging him for weeks and it hasn't improved to the point he feels he can play
  • Last weekend, Woods finished tied for 10th at the WGC-Mexico Championship 

By ASSOCIATED PRESS and REUTERS and DAILYMAIL.COM REPORTER

Published: | Updated:

Tiger Woods has withdrawn from the Arnold Palmer Invitational with what he describes as a neck strain.

Woods announced his decision Monday on Twitter . 

He says his lower back is fine and he has no concerns over the long run. 

Woods says he's had the neck strain for a few weeks and it hasn't improved with treatment to the point he feels he can play.

This is the first time the 43-year-old Woods has withdrawn from a tournament in two years, shortly before his fourth back surgery to fuse his lower spine.

Tiger Woods (seen last Sunday on the first hole at the WGC-Mexico Championship at Chapultepec Golf Club in Mexico City) announced he will not play in this week's Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Golf Court in Orlando

Tiger Woods (seen last Sunday on the first hole at the WGC-Mexico Championship at Chapultepec Golf Club in Mexico City) announced he will not play in this week's Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Golf Court in Orlando

Woods is an eight-time winner at Bay Hill.

He says he hopes to be ready the following week for The Players Championship.

Woods has played three times this year, with his best finish a tie for 10th in Mexico City.

Woods, who has won more major championships than anyone other than Jack Nicklaus, saw his putting go badly awry during the third round of the WGC-Mexico Championship last Saturday.

The American, in his first competitive appearance south of the border, sent murmurs of disbelief through the packed gallery when he four-putted at the 15th hole at Club de Golf Chapultepec in Mexico City.

It took him three attempts to get the ball into the hole on the 16th green and the PGA Tour confirmed that it was the first time he had put together such a poor display of putting on consecutive holes.

Woods had played 22,640 holes on the PGA Tour when he approached the 15th, where everything looked in order as he coaxed a birdie putt up to inside four feet.

His par putt lipped out, however, and trickled two feet away from the cup. 

Without marking his ball, Woods stroked his third putt, which also lipped out, and he walked off with a double-bogey.

Woods, who says he is suffering from a neck strain, is struggling to regain the form he showed last September, when he won the Tour Championship in Atlanta (above)

Woods, who says he is suffering from a neck strain, is struggling to regain the form he showed last September, when he won the Tour Championship in Atlanta (above)

His three-putt at the next, where he missed a five-footer, was not quite as dramatic but hardly less disappointing for one of the greatest talents to have played the game.

Despite the putting problems, the 14-times major champion shot a respectable one-under-par 70 to trail leader Dustin Johnson by 10 strokes heading into Sunday's final round.

Woods declined to speak to the media afterwards, something he has done only a handful of times over his career.

Johnson collected his 20th PGA Tour victory, running away with the WGC-Mexico Championship by five strokes to move up to number two in the world. 

Woods (69) tied for 10th, 13 shots behind Johnson. 

Last September, Woods got a rare taste of his old glory when he won the Tour Championship in Georgia - this after staging a comeback from four back surgeries.

But injuries and age continue to take a toll on the former No. 1.

Most watched News videos