Tiger Woods’ neck harm “a severe issue,” in step with Paul Azinger

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Iger Woods stated he aspires to play in subsequent week’s Players Championship after dropping out of the Arnold Palmer Invitational with a neck strain. New NBC broadcaster Paul Azinger is not as bullish.
Speaking to USA Today’s Steve DiMeglio, the former PGA champ expressed doubt and worry approximately the destiny of the 14-time primary winner.

“His neck trouble, that’s a serious issue I sense,” Azinger advised DiMeglio Friday at Bay Hill. “Because if your neck doesn’t go with the flow the manner you want, that’s trouble.”

On Tuesday, Rory McIlroy stated Woods become coping with the problem at least two weeks in the past, staring at Tiger receiving treatment on the WGC-Mexico Championship. Azinger, who labored that match, also noticed the forty three-12 months-vintage in pain that week.

Golf
“It seemed like the entire (swing motion) wasn’t all going together,” Azinger stated. “You should see he turned into seeking to keep his swing, and it could have been that his neck wasn’t proper,” Azinger said. “You get in there, and your head’s in a spot, and you rotate up, and he gave the look of he was (defensive himself). You can’t play with that.

“I’m hoping he just didn’t need to take a risk and that it’s no longer something extreme. We’ll recognize pretty quickly if he shows up (at The Players). We’ll realize pretty quickly how severe it’s far. We’ll just preserve our breath and desire he gets accessible and plays.”

Woods handled a comparable strain last year at the Open Championship, showing up for his first spherical with KT Tape on his neck. It proved now not to be a whole lot of a hindrance at Carnoustie, as Woods flirted with the claret jug before, in the end, completing T-6. As for the question of whether this neck situation is a motive for the problem, experts say no longer always—even though it is not directly tied to the again injuries that quickly derailed Woods’ career.

“I don’t suppose it’s something predominant,” Dr. Ara Suppiah, a medical doctor to numerous PGA Tour players, instructed Golf Digest. “I’d say most probably it’s a muscular difficulty, and here’s why: If you have a fused backbone, distinctive parts of the body all of sudden ought to pick out up the slack for that lack of mobility and those compensations can cause problems in different locations. And a neck difficulty is real trouble for a golfer. The head remains still for a perfect portion of the swing but now not it all. And while it does must pass, any ache or pain can truely have an effect on the golf swing.”

Azinger expressed a desire that Woods could be ok. Because if he’s now not, Azinger doesn’t envision Tiger inside the ropes going ahead. “I just sense like in his head, if he can’t get after it full equipment, he’ll stop,” Azinger said. “He doesn’t need to play. He wants to play, and there’s a big difference. As long as he desires to play, he’s going to do the whole lot he can to get again.

“Sadly, you’ve were given the most match player who ever performed, and he’s sort of counting on a not worthy body. How did that show up? It befell. Nobody regarded them better than him, no person turned into as suit as him, and holy cow, the subsequent thing you already know he’s getting hurt. “I’m all about being healthy; however, it’s no guarantee for longevity.”