Tiger Woods has been forced to withdraw from the Genesis Invitational due to illness.

The 48-year-old had been making his first appearance on the PGA Tour since the Masters in April, a result of having further surgery on his ankle.

Having shot an opening-round of 72, Woods could be content with his start to the tournament and he opened up with a birdie in his second round.

However, bogeys were made at four and five, before a par at the sixth, yet Woods opted to pull out of tournament after hitting his tee shot on the seventh hole.

As it stands, no further details have been given, but it is a disappointing end of the week for Woods who had been attempting to make the cut in the 70-player event.

When he decided to withdraw, Woods was two-over-par, with the cutline likely to fall on either even-par or one-over.

Upon the completion of Thursday's round, the 15-time major champion revealed that he had experienced back spasms during the closing stages, one that led to a shank from the 18th fairway.

Although Woods is yet to officially confirm his next outings, the Players Championship at Sawgrass and Masters at Augusta are likely to be on his radar.

Patrick Cantlay currently holds the lead at the Genesis Invitational, heading the field by three shots with four holes of his second round to play. body check tags ::