By Becca Wood—
NBC News
Tiger Woods has withdrawn from the Genesis Invitational golf tournament in Los Angeles after being taken off the course with flu symptoms.
The 48-year-old professional golfer was taken to the locker room by a rules official around 1:30 p.m. local time on Friday.
Emergency personnel later arrived at the Riviera Country Club course, the PGA golf tour reported.
Woods was treated inside the clubhouse for “potential dehydration and dizziness related to his illness” with an intravenous bag.
Although the PGA Tour noted that Woods was suffering from back spasms earlier in the day, the golfer confirmed Saturday that he withdrew from the tournament after a flu diagnosis.
“I would like to confirm that I had to withdraw from @thegenesisinv due to an illness, which we now know is influenza,” Woods posted on X. “I am resting and feeling better.
Good luck to the players this weekend.
"I'm disappointed not to be there and I want to thank @GenesisUSA and all the fans for the support."
Woods' manager Rob McNamara said the golfer experienced "flu-like symptoms" during the second round of the tournament, according to NBC Sports.
The tournament was held Feb. 15-18 in the coastal enclave of Pacific Palisades and was Woods' first official appearance on the PGA Tour since he withdrew from the 2023 Masters last April due to plantar fascia.
A few weeks later, he underwent surgery for post-traumatic arthritis related to an injury from his 2021 car accident.
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In December 2023, Woods returned to competition and placed 18th at the Hero World Challenge, then joined forces with his son, Charlie, to compete at the PNC Championship weeks later.
Since 2019, Woods has played in nine official golf events, according to the PGA Tour.
He failed to pass twice and has retired three times.
In February 2021, Woods was involved in an accident in which his car rolled down the side of a hill near Rancho Palos Verdes, California, resulting in multiple open fractures to his tibia and fibula bones and further injuries to his the foot and ankle.