Tiger Woods would reportedly 'love to retire' now if it wasn't down to his commitments around golf including his new 'Sun Day Red' clothing range.
The 15-time major champion was making his latest comeback to the PGA Tour this week at the Riviera Country Club.
He had an eventful opening round on Thursday with five birdies and six bogeys to finish one-over par, which also included an uncharacteristic shank on the final hole.
Woods blamed back spasms on the mishit shot, sparking concerns the American sports icon still isn't fully fit.
Tiger Woods withdrew from the Genesis Invitational
GETTY
He got off to another strong start initially on Friday with a birdie after giving himself a good look at eagle.
But he suffered back-to-back bogeys on the fourth and fifth hole and appeared to be in some discomfort.
After hitting his tee shot on the seventh hole, Woods was seen in a golf cart exiting the course and it was soon announced that he was withdrawing from the tournament.
The PGA Tour confirmed Woods was withdrawing due to illness rather than injury and Rob McNamara revealed the golf icon required an IV after suffering "some flu-like symptoms".
McNamara added that Woods' back was not causing him any problems, indicating the 48-year-old will be back in competitive golf sooner rather than later.
But it's the third time Woods has withdrawn from an event since his horrifying car crash in February 2021.
Woods has only played in six tournaments since nearly losing his leg in the accident with his other withdrawals coming at the 2022 PGA Championship and last year's Masters.
Despite the constant setbacks, Woods has maintained confidence that he can keep competing with the very best golfers in the world and that he wouldn't be back if he didn't feel capable of winning.
However, the Daily Mail claim Woods secretly wants to walk away from professional golf altogether.
A source told the newspaper: "If Tiger could retire, he would.
Tiger Woods was suffering from an illness
GETTY
"His body is beat up but, for his brand, he still has to make and keep appearances and make a go at it.
"After his car accident, he thought that was it. There was almost an amputation in play, so to be back even at all is sort of a miracle.
"Now with this recent illness that had him bow out of the latest tournament, that is unfortunate, but he will be back because he has to support his new brand Sun Day Red, and everything else in his world.
"He'll be back even though he would love nothing more than to retire."
LATEST SPORT NEWS:
Tiger Woods has played in just six tournaments since February 2021
GETTY
It's not clear when Woods plans to make his return, but he'll want to be back out and playing a full tournament prior to The Masters.
Woods will be expected to feature in either the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill or The Players Championship the following week at TPC Sawgrass.
After that, he'll likely only focus on playing the four majors with the PGA Championship, US Open and The Open to follow The Masters.
