Leg injuries force Tiger to pull out of TPC after nine holes

Troubles continue: Tiger Woods hits a shot from the fairway on the second hole during the first round of The Players Championship on Thursday. Woods withdrew after nine holes due to pain in his left knee. AP PHOTO

Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida — Tiger Woods limped off the golf course and into a future that is murkier than ever when he withdrew with leg injuries after his worst nine holes at The Players Championship on Thursday.

"I'm having a hard time walking," he said.

Woods shot a 42 on the front nine of the TPC Sawgrass, including a triple bogey on the fourth hole when he didn't clear a water hazard 30 yards in front of him. He constantly walked some 20 yards behind his playing partners, holding his golf club for support, and limping noticeably after each hole.

After taking a bogey on the par-5 ninth, he handed his scorecard to U.S. PGA champion Martin Kaymer, then walked back to inform Matt Kuchar that he was leaving early from The Players for the second straight year.

It was his first competition since the Masters, where Woods said he hurt his left knee and Achilles while hitting from the pine straw beneath Eisenhower Tree on the 17th hole in the third round. Woods was briefly tied for the lead the next day and finished tied for fourth.

He described it as a "minor injury" when he skipped last week to give his leg time to heal, and said he was "surprised" that it acted up on him at The Players.

"The treatment's been good," he said. "It's been getting better. But it just wasn't enough."

From the opening tee shot, he looked as bad as he ever has.

"The knee acted up and then the Achilles followed after that, and then the calf started cramping up," Woods said. "Everything started getting tight, so it's just a whole chain reaction."

The first hole could not have gone any worse for Woods.

He pulled his opening tee shot into the pine trees, leaving him a stance in the pine straw. Then he came up short of the green, his ball perched at the bottom of a steep bank that forced another awkward stance.

"The pine straw didn't help because my foot slipped, my left foot slipped," Woods said. "It obviously would have probably felt better if it would have held."

The rest of his nine holes was not much better, especially at No. 4. He said his knee "grabbed me" on a tee shot that sailed well left into the mounds, and he put his approach into the water.

Then came a shocker of a shot — after taking a drop, his short pitch to a back pin hit the bulkhead and went back into the water. He had to make a 20-foot putt for triple bogey.

Even more remarkable — Woods didn't hit a single green from his five tee shots that found the fairway.

"Nobody really knows how much pain he was in," Kaymer said. "Of course, we hope that he gets well soon, that he gets out here again. It would have been nice to play another 27 with him. And he shot 6 over, but hopefully he can recover soon so he can play great golf again."

The 42 was three shots higher than his previous worst 9-hole score at the TPC Sawgrass. His worst 9-hole score on the U.S. PGA Tour was a 43 on four occasions, the most recent on the back nine at Quail Hollow last year when he missed the cut.

Woods has had four operations on his left knee.

One week after missing the cut for the first time since last June, Nick Watney opened with an 8-under 64 on Thursday to take a one-shot lead over Wells Fargo winner Lucas Glover.

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