Golfing News

Tiger Woods has withdrawn in the midst of the final round of The Players Championship. After playing seven holes in 2-over par, he left the course, and the grounds.

Michael Collins, who followed Woods’ group for XM Radio, said after Woods’ tee shot on No. 4, something wasn’t right.

“His gait was much slower than normal, a ginger-type walk, then he misses the tee shot left on No. 6 and can’t get the ball out of the Bermuda rough, which is on that thick around here,” he said. “It was a little bit strange.”

According to PGA Tour stats, Woods hit a driver only 269 yards right into the pine straw on the 7th hole.

“He punches out from there short of the green and Stevie (Williams, his caddie) picks up the ball,” Collins said. “Stevie jumps on the back of my cart and says, ‘Let’s go, we’re done.’”

This means that Phil Mickelson, who tees off soon and starts the day five shots behind the lead of Englishman Lee Westwood, can pass Woods for the No. 1 spot in the Official World Golf Rakings without winning. He can finish in the Top 3 and get help from others around him in the rankings.

None of this changes the challenge for Lee Westwood, who finished second at The Masters last month, and has been oh-so-close in a handful of majors. A win here would build on his title in the Dubai World Championship late last year. A win would mean and accomplish the same thing that Sergio Garcia’s win in 2008 did for the Spaniard.

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