JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Tiger Woods withdrew several hours before his scheduled second round tee time at the Northern Trust on Friday.
“Due to a mild oblique strain that led to pain and stiffness, I have to withdraw from the Northern Trust. I went for treatment early morning but unfortunately I’m still unable to compete,” Woods said in a prepared statement released by the PGA Tour.
He was scheduled to begin his second round at 12:33 PM ET with Scott Piercy and J.T. Poston. Woods was likely to miss the cut after a first-round 75 that left him 13 shots off the lead and near the bottom of the leaderboard.
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The Masters champion said he remains hopeful of playing next week’s BMW Championship, the second of three events in the FedEx Cup playoffs.
“I’d like to thank the New Jersey and New York fans for their support and remain hopeful I can compete next week at the BMW Championship,” Woods also said in that statement.
His WD at Liberty National leaves him outside the top 30 points leaders who will qualify for the season-finale Tour Championship in Atlanta in two weeks, meaning a no-show next week in Chicago or even a poor performance will bring his season to an end.
