Back injury forces Tiger Woods out of Dubai Desert Classic

Johannesburg [South Africa], Feb.3 (ANI):Former world number one Tiger Woods has pulled out of the Dubai Desert Classic before the start of the second round due to a back injury. A back spasm overnight failed to subside, thus forcing the 41-year-old to concede that he would not compete further in the ongoing tournament. However, Woods, who shot a five-over par 77 on Thursday, insisted he was not in any pain at all. "No, I wasn't in pain at all. I was just trying to hit shots and I wasn't doing a very good job," Sport24 quoted the American as saying. Meanwhile, Wood's manager Mark Steinberg clarified that it was not the nerve issue, but backs spasms that forced the golfer out of the game for 16 months. "He felt okay coming off the golf course yesterday (Thursday). So he wasn't in pain. I didn't see him at dinner, but he said he was okay. He then went into a spasm in his lower back, fairly late last night after dinner," Sport24 quoted Steinberg as saying. "He says it's not the nerve pain that's kept him out for so long. He says it's a back spasm and he just can't get the spasm to calm down. So that's where we are. He can move around. But he can't make a full rotation on the swing," he explained of Woods 16-month injury lay-off. Earlier, Woods was scheduled to take a week off after Dubai Classic before playing two successive weeks on the PGA Tour - at the Genesis Open and Honda Classic. Woods, who has 14 majors in his account, has dropped from No.1 in the world to No. 666 since losing in US Open in 2008.(ANI)