AUGUSTA, Ga. – Citing a reaggravation of plantar fasciitis, five-time Masters champion Tiger Woods withdrew from the Masters Sunday morning. The tournament made the announcement prior to the resumption of the weather-suspended third round.
Woods posted on social media: “I am disappointed to have to WD this morning due to reaggravating my plantar fasciitis. Thank you to the fans and to The Masters who have shown me so much love and support. Good luck to the players today!”
Woods labored to make his way around the hilly terrain of Augusta National this week, walking behind his playing partners and even limping as he descended hills, on his surgically repaired right leg. Woods suffered multiple fractures in his right leg in a 2021 car wreck that left his playing career severely in doubt. He has also undergone back surgery five times. Asked Thursday after his first round whether he felt pain as he swung the club on particular shots or if it was constant, Woods replied, “It’s constant.”
Woods did make the 36-hole cut on Saturday morning, playing through cold and rain to finish the second round at 3-over par, right on the cut line. It was his 23rd consecutive made cut at the tournament, tying him with past champions Fred Couples and Gary Player for most times surviving the 36-hole cut at Augusta National. Woods spoke after the round with his fate still in doubt and said he hoped to make it to the final two rounds. It was a long way from the expectations that he once harbored at the Masters, which he once dominated so thoroughly that the club extended holes the course to negate his length off the tee and fairway. On top of the five green jackets, Woods has finished in top 10 at the Masters another nine times.
“I’ve always loved this golf course, and I love playing this event,” he said Saturday. “Obviously, I’ve missed a couple with some injuries, but I’ve always wanted to play here. I’ve loved it.”
Woods returned to the course to begin the third round later Saturday and finished seven holes before play was halted by rain. Had he not withdrawn, he would have faced 29 holes on Sunday, beginning the day in temperatures in the 40′s. When he withdrew prior to the resumption of third-round play, he was in 54th and last place at 9-over par.
With nothing to prove on the golf course, Woods’ withdrawal and his physical difficulties raise the question of whether he has played his last Masters and perhaps even his last competitive round anywhere. He had said earlier in the week that he didn’t know how many more times he would play the tournament that has come to define him, and his struggles traversing the course don’t seem likely to abate.
The injury has limited both his ability to compete and to practice. He had played only one other event this year prior to the Masters and three in 2022. His best finish was a tie for 45th at the Genesis Invitational, a tournament he hosts, in February. Including this year’s Masters, he failed to finish three of the tournaments, missing the cut at the Open Championship last year and withdrawing from last year’s PGA Championship and the Masters on Sunday.
