Tiger withdraws from The Honda Classic in final round

Tiger Woods withdrew from The Honda Classic at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., on Sunday after 13 holes. He started the final round tied for 17th following a 5-under-par 65 on Saturday, but was 5-over par for his round on Sunday.

“It’s my lower back with spasms,” Woods said in a statement afterward. “It started this morning warming up.”

It marked only the sixth time Tiger has withdrawn from a tournament in 297 career starts on the PGA TOUR. The last time it happened was during the final round of the 2012 WGC-Cadillac Championship in Doral, Fla.

Woods said the discomfort was similar to what he felt last August at The Barclays. Playing the final round of that tournament in obvious pain and wincing after shots, he battled gamely and wound up tying for second place, one stroke behind winner Adam Scott.

Tiger is scheduled to defend his title next week in the WGC-Cadillac Championship at the TPC Blue Monster in Doral, Fla. However, he is uncertain whether he will be able to play.

“It’s too early to tell,” Woods said. “I need treatment every day until Thursday to try and calm it down. We’ll see how it is.”

Woods struggled on the front nine Sunday at PGA National. He bogeyed the par-4 second hole, then hit a poor drive at the par-5 third and made a double-bogey. Tiger also bogeyed the fourth, sixth and ninth holes to make the turn in 5-over 40. Tiger parred 10, 11, 12 and 13 before walking off the course.