Jimmy Roberts of NBC gets a statement through Tiger spokesman Glenn Greenspan, saying "I felt tightness in my left Achilles" and "in the past I would have continued playing." Tiger said he would be "evaluated sometime early next week."
Update on 2012-03-12 00:04 by Geoff
**Steve Elling with more details on how it went down. I'm noticing that Tiger did not stop by the fitness trailer, which I thought was mandatory after a WD due to injury, not to mention odd to not want to seek immediate treatment. But maybe not?
Woods, 36, changed his golf spikes at the turn for reasons that remain unclear, then began flexing his left knee and limping visibly after hitting his second shot on the 10th hole into the water, which viewers of the European feed noticed immediately. After a bogey on the 10th, he dropped to T27. He parred the 11th hole from a greenside bunker, then teed off on the 12th with a driver and crushed a shot 321 yards down the middle of the fairway.
Speaking of 3-2-1, nobody knew the withdrawalcountdown had started. He was 3 over for the day at the time and well off the pace at 6 under overall when he jumped into a golf cart and was taken straight to his black Mercedes sedan in a nearby car park. He drove off with caddie Joe LaCava, moments after a paramedic team from the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue team cruised up to see if he required treatment.
Here I had Miceli on the second tier behind the Feinstein/Elling/(and now) Diaz level of people who handler Glenn Greenspan will give the hilarious evil eye to. But now, well, I just don't know what to do with the lovable Golfweek and Golf Channel contributor after he got the evil stare today from Michael Corleone Tiger Woods following a rough exchange that is probably making newscasts nationwide as I post this.
Q. I'm sorry, the book thing is out there and you guys have commented about it; specifically in regards to being a Navy SEAL and considering being a Navy SEAL during the height of your career, was that something you were considering?
WOODS: I've already talked about everything -- in the book, yes, I've already commented on everything, Alex.
Q. Then I must have missed you answering that question.
TIGER WOODS: Well, I've already commented on the book. Is that in the book? Is it in the book?
Q. That's a fair question, right, you guys are suggesting that there's something wrong with the excerpts in the book. I'm just trying to find out if that's true or not.
The transcript left out Tiger saying, "You're a beauty you know that?" And as the tour media official tried to move things along, it then finished with one more Miceli question not picked up and...
As for Tiger's almost comical inability to handle this in a way that makes the book go away or minimizes the sales impact (he just helped sell another bunch of copies today on a relatively minor revelation), I'm envisioning a clever opponent pulling a first tee Trevino.
Here's how it goes.
Player is rifling through his bag looking for something on the first tee of a major while paired with Tiger, and as he's trying to find whatever is buried so deep, out comes a copy of Hank's book, only it comes flying out a la the fake snake at Merion. Everyone busts up except you-know-who!
My download of the April Golf Digest got sidetracked by slow WiFi so I haven't read the tablet-only release of the April Golf Digest, but I see the standout from today's excerpt-of-the-excerpt was Hank Haney's revelation that Tiger was obsessed with military training to a greater degree than most realized.
Day two of the match play is complete and your sweet sixteen is set: Snedeker, Rory, Kaymer, Kuchar, Westwood, Watney, Hanson, Jimenez, Laird, Lawrie, Stricker, Mahan, Wilson, Dustin, Senden and Moon.
Thursday's AP match notes (in an itty-bitty font size) include items on Hunter Mahan's stunning 9 birdies in 15 holes, Dustin Johnson's rout, the Lawrie-Laird Scottish showdown and Hanson's easy win over Ernie Els.
As for day two's most prominent loss, travel agents were overwhelmed by calls from media outlets trying to get their folks out of town following Tiger's defeat at the hands of Nick Watney. From Doug Ferguson's game story:
In what is becoming a troubling trend for Woods, he missed the birdie putt so badly that it never even touched the hole, giving Watney a 1-up victory Thursday in the Match Play Championship.
It was the third straight time that Woods, a three-time champion in this event, failed to get out of the second round.
"I didn't miss a single shot coming in, which is good. And that was fun, to hit the ball that well," Woods said. "Unfortunately, I just didn't make a putt when I needed it."
Woods missed three putts inside 10 feet over the last six holes, none more important than the last one.
The greens here on the Jack Nicklaus design are wild and hilly. They are tricky because of all the slopes and grain and valley effect. Figuring out a putt can be like taking a science exam.
Woods did not pass.
He missed seven putts inside of 15 feet, all but one for birdies. Five of the misses were in the range of 5-10 feet. The longest of the three birdie putts he made was 6 feet, on a 335-yard driveable par 4; the two others were tap-ins on par 5s. His longest make was on a 14 1/2-foot par save at the fifth.
“They’re hard to read,” he said for the second day.
They seemed to baffle him from start to painful finish. After a terrific drive and 188-yard approach shot at the 480-yard 18th, he missed an uphill 5 1/2-foot birdie putt that would have won the hole and extended the match.
In fact, if there's anything we've learned over the past 2 1/2 years, it's that Woods can no longer win with his so-called B Game. It's been a talking point for months, though mostly in the form of locker-room whispers, and it was underscored again this week when he barely escaped his careening, opening-round match with a 1-up win.
In fact, if he putts the way he has in his two PGA Tour starts -- which included missing five times from five feet or closer in the final round at Pebble Beach -- he's going to have trouble winning matches for pocket money at his home club in South Florida.
"I should be able to fix it in about a day," Woods said tersely.
Um, with all due respect, we're going on, like, three years. At least compared to what we've grown accustomed to seeing, anyway.
"I hit the ball well all day today. Unfortunately, I just did not make enough putts to extend the match."
This is his standard fallback position when there are bigger picture questions begging for answers.
Baffle his questioners with the minutae of mechanics.
But what does it all mean, Tiger?
Maybe not much?
Maybe it's just that he doesn't like this course — and he's not alone in that — and wants to get back to the comfort of Florida, where next week he tees it up at the Honda Classic?
Steve DiMeglioreports on Nick Watney's second round win over Tiger Woods, which sent the Golf Channel crew into a stupor that has me concerned for Kelly Tilghman's ability to enjoy the rest of her stay at the Ritz Carlton.
Johnny Miller has told Golf Magazine in a forthcoming interview that he now thinks Tiger will TIE Jack's mark of 18 majors. In May of last year, Tiger was going to struggle to tie Jack. And this May, well, I'm sure we'll find out Johnny's updated prognostication.
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning Drive, is co-host of The Ringer's ShackHouse is the author of eleven books.
**Steve Elling with more details on how it went down. I'm noticing that Tiger did not stop by the fitness trailer, which I thought was mandatory after a WD due to injury, not to mention odd to not want to seek immediate treatment. But maybe not?
