Tiger Woods Quits Players Championship After Nine Holes

The Players Championship will have to go on without Tiger Woods. Woods quit the tournament after just the first nine holes, claiming that an injury has flared up which made him unable to continue. It is a decision that will surely be debated for quite some time, especially with how badly he was playing on the front nine at TPC Sawgrass.

ESPN reported that Woods had been shooting a horrid 6-over-42 through the first nine holes Thursday, including a triple-bogey 7 on the fourth hole. This was clearly not the best golf fans have seen from Woods in the past. Quitting might raise some red flags about his mental toughness at this point, but if he really was injured, it's hard to fault him for deciding he was done for now.

After falling to No. 8 in the world rankings, this was a key tournament for Woods to finally get back on the right track. It ended up being anything but that, and now he will have to deal with questions about his injuries for weeks to come. Even if Woods comes back healthy for his next tournament, it is a safe bet that he will be peppered with inquiries about whether he is back to 100 percent.

During his news conference after withdrawing, Woods stated he was having difficulty walking, noting that he was dealing with minor knee and Achilles injuries that could be tough for any golfer to deal with. On a course like TPC Sawgrass, it is even more difficult because of all the hills that require the players to climb and descend. In golf, it is also extremely important to use the knees when it comes to driving the ball long distances. Thus, a knee injury can really cripple the chances of even the best golfers.

Each week it seems like Woods is falling further from the superstar persona he had once had on the golf course. This was the guy who was supposed to set the record for most Majors won on the PGA Tour, but now it is starting to look like Jack Nicholas might hold on to that record for even longer. Some analysts had thought that Woods just needed to play himself out of the recent struggles he had suffered through, but even that methodology doesn't seem to be working at this point. As for his playing condition, it's hard to predict at this point how long he will need to recover before heading back out on a gold course.