Tiger Woods took questions at the Aronimink Golf Club in Delaware County on Monday. He was there for a media event ahead of his scheduled play at the AT&T National Tournament over the Fourth of July weekend.
Woods said during a news conference Monday that his neck started bothering him two weeks before the Masters, his first competition in five months. He brushed it off as "no big deal" until it kept getting worse.
"I'm at a point now where I just can't go anymore," he said.
He says he can deal with the pain but cannot deal with the spasms that affect his ability to turn his head.
Woods withdrew on the seventh hole of the Players Championship in Florida because of the neck injury that, he fears, might be from a bulging disk.
"For me not to play all 18 holes, that was as angry and as frustrated as I've been in a long time," Woods said of withdrawing from The Players Championship on Sunday. "It is sore."
Woods said he's been taking anti-inflammatory drugs, but they have not helped. He plans to have an MRI when he returns to Orlando, Fla. He said his schedule is "up in the air" and could be shaped based on what he sees in the MRI.
At Aronimink on Monday, organizers said they were hoping for the best.
"We've got our fingers crossed and hope he'll be playing here soon," said Dick Naumann, the GM of Aronimink. "When I first heard the news I said "I can't believe this. So, yeah, it's disappointing. Hopefully it's not overly serious and he'll get back to swinging the club here soon."
The AT&T National Tournament has been years in the planning, but Tiger's personal and professional life have taken a few detours since then. First, there was the November car accident outside his home and the ensuing allegations and confessions about his extramarital affairs.
After that, AT&T dropped Tiger as a sponsor, throwing his participation in this tournament into doubt. However, Tiger said he would participate since the tournament benefits his foundation. He is also the defending champion after last year's win.
For now, the club is focused on getting ready, especially for the big crowds that are expected.
"The numbers we've been given from previous tournaments is up to maybe 40,000 people per day," Naumann said. That totals 160,000 people for the long weekend, though without Tiger that could be considerably less.
That's why organizers are keeping their fingers crossed, especially since they have $6.2 million in prize money to cover. Whatever is left goes to local charities and Tiger's foundation.
The AT&T National Tournament will also be played at Aronimink next year.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
