Tiger Woods has withdrawn from the Dubai Desert Classic after suffering a "back spasm" following Thursday's opening round at the Emirates Golf Club.

The 14-time major champion, who shot a five-over-par 77 on day one, started to feel discomfort late Thursday, according to his manager Mark Steinberg.

"He went into a spasm in his lower back fairly late last night after dinner," Steinberg told reporters Friday ahead of Woods' scheduled second round.
"He tried to work it out last night and didn't really get it worked out. He had treatment starting pretty early this morning, [the] past three, three-and-a-half hours and he can't get it out.

"It's a back spasm not the nerve pain that kept him out for so long -- it's a back spasm. He can't get it to calm down. That's where we are."
Woods appeared to be moving gingerly at times during his round Thursday, but he dismissed any suggestion he was still struggling with his back.
"I wasn't in pain at all," Woods said on day one. "I was just trying to hit shots and I wasn't doing a very good job."

Steinberg said Woods "feels terrible" about pulling out of what is only his third tournament since returning from a 15-month injury layoff in December.
"He talked to (playing partners) Matthew (Fitzpatrick) and Danny (Willett) and feels awful, and he feels terrible for the tournament," Steinberg said.

"I didn't hit the ball very well," he told reporters after his round, EuropeanTour.com reported. "I left probably about 16 putts short. I just couldn't get the speed of these things and, consequently, it added up to a pretty high number."

Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2017/02/03/golf/tiger-woods-back-spasm-dubai-withdraws/