Tiger Woods pulled out of the Genesis Invitational midway through his round on Friday due to illness.
Tiger Woods has confirmed falling ill with influenza was the reason for his withdrawal from the Genesis Invitational.
Woods was making his first appearance in an official PGA Tour event since last year’s Masters, where he pulled out due to his leg problems.
He had an eventful first round after shooting five birdies and six bogeys, as well as a wild shank on the 18th.
But there was huge concern on Friday when Woods was carted off the course and ambulances arrived to treat the 15-time major champion.
It was later confirmed that Woods had withdrawn from the competition due to illness.
And the 48-year-old has now spoken for the first time since leaving the tournament, confirming he is already “feeling better”.
He wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “I would like to confirm that I had to withdraw from @thegenesisinv due to illness, which we now know is influenza.
“I am resting and feeling better. Good luck to the players this weekend.
“I’m disappointed to not be there and want to thank @GenesisUSA and all the fans for the support.”
News of Woods’ withdrawal sparked fresh concerns that the golfing icon had suffered an injury setback.
But Rob McNamara, Tiger Woods’ long-time business partner, said afterwards that his “back is fine”.
He added: “Not physical at all. It was all medical illness, dehydration, which is now, the symptoms are reversing themselves now that he’s had an IV.”
Tiger Woods is the tournament host at the Genesis Invitational and has historically presented the trophy to the winner.
It’s unclear whether he will be back on Sunday to join in the presentation ceremony or not.
Gary Woodland, who received a sponsor’s exemption from Woods to play at the Genesis Invitational, was grouped with Woods for the first two rounds.
And he noticed a change in Woods’ demeanour between the first and second round.
“I saw it, he obviously wasn’t himself, just didn’t look right,” he said.
“He was quieter. Obviously, it’s cut day, we’re all trying to play well, the whole group’s trying to focus and pick ourselves up and play well.
“I feel bad for him. He definitely was trying to fight through it, and I hope he’s all right.”
