Woods pulls out of Arnold Palmer
Eight-time champion Tiger Woods has withdrawn from this week's Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando due to a neck strain, he said on Monday.
Woods, who returned to competition last season after a lengthy recovery from spinal fusion surgery, said he had been dealing with the problem for a few weeks and hoped to play in The Players Championship next week.
"I've been receiving treatment, but it hasn't improved enough to play," the former world No. 1 posted on Twitter.
"My lower back is fine and I have no long-term concerns, and I hope to be ready for The Players."
He did not say how he suffered the strain but there was nothing about his play at the WGC-Mexico Championship, where he tied for 10th 10 days ago, to suggest he was not healthy.
Woods finished joint 20th at the Farmers Insurance Open in January, followed by a T15 at the Genesis Open last month. - REUTERS
Veteran trio no longer in Loew's plans
Germany coach Joachim Loew is not planning to call up veterans Jerome Boateng, Mats Hummels and Thomas Mueller, saying the team need to look to the future.
The Bayern Munich footballers were part of the 2014 World Cup-winning team but the Germans crashed out of last year's World Cup in the group stage, their earliest exit in 80 years.
All three have also struggled for form this season.
"I thank Mats, Jerome and Thomas for the many successful, extraordinary and unique years we shared," Loew told the best-selling Bild newspaper yesterday.
"But, in the national team, it is now all about laying the foundations for the future. We want to give the team a new face. I am convinced that this is the right step."
Germany face Serbia in a friendly in Wolfsburg on March 20, four days before the start of their European Championship qualification campaign against Holland in Amsterdam.- REUTERS
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