• FedEx Cup Play-Offs

Woods withdraws from charity event

Tiger Woods was in clear pain in the final round at The Barclays © AP

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Tiger Woods' participation in the Deutsche Bank Championship has been put in further doubt after he was forced to withdrew from a charity event on Wednesday due to the back spasms that plagued him throughout The Barclays.

Woods was scheduled to play an 18-hole exhibition as part of the Notah Begay III Foundation Challenge in upstate New York, with Begay - a former PGA Tour pro who played golf with Woods at Stanford - quoted in a statement as saying, "the important thing for Tiger is to make sure he is 100 per cent healthy and not risk further injuring himself."

Woods didn't reveal whether he would be fit enough for this weekend's event, the second of the FedEx Cup Play-offs, but a spokeswoman said on Monday night that he still intends to play as scheduled.

In a statement, Woods expressed his regret for having to miss Begay's event.

Woods, who finished tied for second place on Sunday at The Barclays, a stroke behind winner Adam Scott, was in obvious pain over the closing holes at Liberty National. He fell to his knees on the par-five 13th after hitting his second shot, one that found a water hazard. A bogey followed, and he appeared out of the tournament until two late birdies and a near-miss at the 18th denied him a chance in a play-off.

Earlier in the week, Woods had played just nine holes during the Wednesday pro-am, saying he had an issue with a soft hotel mattress. Woods also had lower back problems during the final round of the US PGA Championship.

The Deutsche Bank Championship does not begin until Friday. Unless he opts out and agrees to other sponsor commitments, he would be part of the pre-tournament pro-am on Thursday.

If Woods is able to play, he will be grouped with Scott and Open Championship winner Phil Mickelson - they are first, second and third, respectively, in the FedEx Cup standings - for the first two rounds of the event.

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