Woods shoots 42, withdraws, cites injuries

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla., May 12 (UPI) -- Tiger Woods, hampered by nagging injuries, withdrew from The Players Championship in Florida Thursday after just nine holes.

Woods, who said he felt pain from his first tee shot, trudged to a 6-over-par 42 on the front nine, then called it quits.

The 35-year-old pro was playing in his first tournament since he sprained the medial collateral ligament in his left knee and strained his left Achilles tendon at the Masters last month.

"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."

Woods had three bogeys and a triple-bogey, and was tied for last place with Stephen Ames after his abbreviated outing.

It is the fourth time as a pro Wood has withdrawn from a tournament but the first time he failed to finish at least one round.

"The [doctors] said I could play. The more rest I get, the better it would be, obviously," Woods said. "Obviously, it's a big event. I want to come back for it and play, and unfortunately I wasn't able to finish."

Woods has not won a tournament since a late 2009 extramarital sex scandal that led to his divorce.