Woods withdraws from Players Championship after nine holes

Tiger Woods has been forced to withdraw from the Players Championship halfway through his first round due to injury.

The 14-time major winner had not played since suffering knee and Achilles injuries at the Masters a month ago and it was soon apparent at Sawgrass that Woods, who only began practising again on Monday, was still not fully over his problems.

The former world number one began with a bogey five before twice finding the water on the fourth hole to record a triple-bogey seven on his way to a midway score of 42.

And the 35-year-old decided he could no longer continue in the tournament for a second successive year, having withdrawn during the final round in 2010 with a neck injury.

"The knee acted up and the Achilles followed that, and then the calf started cramping up," said Woods. "Everything started getting tight, so it's just a whole chain reaction."