• Players Championship

Tiger withdraws from Players after awful start

ESPN staff
May 12, 2011
Tiger Woods' long wait for a win continues © Getty Images
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Tiger Woods has been forced to withdraw from the Players Championship on the first day due to injury.

Woods withdrew after nine holes at Sawgrass, by which time he was visibly limping and languishing at six-over.

The 35-year-old, who is nursing a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee and a strained left Achilles tendon, was making his first appearance since the Masters in April, where he finished fourth. "The knee acted up, then the Achilles followed after that then the calf started cramping up," Woods said.

He picked up the injuries when hitting an awkward shot during the third round at Augusta, and was seen wearing a protective boot last month.

It had been a torrid start at Sawgrass for Woods: a bogey at the first hinted at what was to come, then he found the water twice at the fourth on his way to shooting a triple-bogey seven.

He now faces a fitness race to make the US Open at Congressional, which begins on June 16. Meanwhile, his winless streak, which stretches back to November 2009, continues.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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