Another setback for Woods on long road to recovery

Tiger Woods admits he has 'no timetable' for his return to golf after announcing he will not play in next week's Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Tiger Woods admits he has "no timetable" for his return to golf after announcing he will not play in next week's Arnold Palmer Invitational. (Picture: Peter Byrne/PA Wire)Tiger Woods admits he has "no timetable" for his return to golf after announcing he will not play in next week's Arnold Palmer Invitational. (Picture: Peter Byrne/PA Wire)
Tiger Woods admits he has "no timetable" for his return to golf after announcing he will not play in next week's Arnold Palmer Invitational. (Picture: Peter Byrne/PA Wire)

Woods was keen to play at Bay Hill to honour the late tournament host Palmer, who died last September, but has not recovered from the back spasms which saw him withdraw from the Dubai Desert Classic at the start of February.

In a statement on his website, Woods wrote: “Unfortunately, due to ongoing rest and rehabilitation on my back, I won’t be able to play in this year’s Arnold Palmer Invitational.

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“I’m especially disappointed because I wanted to be at Bay Hill to help honour Arnold. This is one event I didn’t want to skip.

“Arnold has meant so much to me and my family; I thought of him as a close friend, and Sam and Charlie (Woods’ children) were both born in the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies. He will be greatly missed and can never truly be replaced.

“Presently, I have no timetable for my return to golf, but my treatments are continuing and going well.”

Woods insisted he had not been in pain after an opening 77 in Dubai, but pulled out of what was just his third event since August 2015 before the second round. His agent Mark Steinberg said at the time Woods was pleased it was a spasm, rather than the nerve pain caused by a back injury which required three operations in the space of 19 months. However, a week later Woods also pulled out of the Genesis Open and Honda Classic and the 41-year-old later cancelled his scheduled press conference at the Genesis Open, which benefits his foundation.

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Defending champion SSP Chawrasia surged to the top of the leaderboard before bad weather disrupted the Hero Indian Open for the second day in succession.

Chawrasia carded a flawless second round of 67 at DLF Golf Club in New Delhi to finish five under par and a shot ahead of England’s David Horsey.

Play was then suspended for two and a half hours due to the threat of lightning, leaving 66 players to complete their second rounds on Saturday. One of those is John Parry who is 10 over through 23 holes, while Huddersfield’s Chris Hanson added a 72 to his opening 76.