PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- The road to the Masters got off to a bumpy start Sunday for Tiger Woods when he withdrew from the Honda Classic with what he said was a lower back injury. Woods was 5-over par for the final round -- 12 shots behind Rory McIlroy at the time -- when he shook hands with Luke Guthrie on the 13th green and told him he was done. It was the farthest point at PGA National, and the tournament sent a van to collect Woods and his family. Police kept the media from the parking lot. "He just came over and said, I cant go anymore. It was a pleasure playing with you," said Luke Guthrie, paired with Woods the last two days. "I just said, Take it easy. Feel better. Pretty uneventful." But the speculation over his future figures to be a big buzz leading to the Masters next month. Woods said through spokesman Glenn Greenspan it was a lower back problem that had started Sunday morning as he was warming up. He was to defend his title next week in the Cadillac Championship. "Too early to tell," Woods said in a statement about playing next week at Doral. "Ill get treatment every day to try to calm it down. Just dont know yet. Wait until Thursday and see how it feels." Woods already has played a limited schedule this year -- 10 complete rounds. He was to play twice more before the Masters on April 10-13. Woods said the spasms were similar to what he felt last August at The Barclays, where he dropped to his knees after hitting one shot. Woods finished that tournament in a tie for second, one shot behind Adam Scott. It was the second time in two years that Woods has walked off the course in the middle of the final round. He quit after 11 holes at Doral when he was well out of contention -- and then won Bay Hill two weeks later for his first PGA Tour title since his return from the chaos in his personal life. Guthrie said he could tell early on in the round that something was not right with Woods. "He made a couple of uncharacteristic shots -- the first on 3 kind of was the first one," Guthrie said. "I didnt know if he wasnt feeling the greatest, and it kind of seemed like he might have been protecting -- came up and out of it. I didnt think much of it until maybe 11. I noticed he was bending down gingerly. "He didnt mention it to me," Guthrie said. "Obviously, he wasnt playing the greatest. I wasnt playing the greatest. He was battling out there. Its not like he was throwing in the towel. He was still trying." Woods started the final round seven shots out of the lead and was out of the tournament quickly. He muffed a tough chip in the rough on No. 2, and then took double bogey on the easy par-5 third hole with a drive that found the water hazard left of the sixth green. He bogeyed the fourth from behind the green, and then put his tee shot into the water on No. 6 and had to scramble to save bogey. Woods had said earlier this year in Dubai that he spent the majority of his off-season working on his physical strength, at the expense of neglecting his game. He opened the year by missing the 54-hole cut at Torrey Pines (where he is an eight-time winner), and then tying for 41st in the Dubai Desert Classic. The Honda Classic was his first tournament in a month, and he didnt make it to the finish line. "If youre hurting, youre hurting," Guthrie said. "You dont need to risk injuring yourself even more. Hes had his share of problems with injuries. Theres no reason for him to chance it if hes really hurting." This was the fourth time Woods has withdrawn from a tournament since returning from the chaos in his personal life at the end of 2009. He withdrew from The Players Championship in consecutive years, once in the final round because of a bulging disk, and then after nine holes in 2011 with a leg injury. He left in the final round at Doral in 2012 because of tightness in his Achilles tendon. Two years ago at Doral, Woods was driven in a cart to the parking lot, and NBC Sports showed footage of his Mercedes-Benz driving out of the Miami resort toward his home about an hour north in Jupiter. This time, police blocked the media from entering the players parking lot. Woods was seen getting out of a white passenger van with his mother and other members of his group. It was the second time the No. 1 player in the world walked out in the middle of the Honda Classic. A year ago, McIlroy quit after 26 holes because of what he said was a sore wisdom tooth. He later said the frustration of a poor start to the year got the best of him. By withdrawing in the middle of the round, Woods is ineligible to win the Vardon Trophy for lowest scoring average for having an incomplete round. Woods has won the award a record nine times. 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Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti says Bale received "a knock on his thigh and wont be available" for the match against third-division club Xativa Olimpic. SUNRISE, Fla. -- Jeff Zatkoff was glad to get another chance to face the Florida Panthers. Evgeni Malkin scored a goal and had three assists, and Zatkoff stopped a season-high 39 shots, including 15 in the first period, to lift the Pittsburgh Penguins over the Florida Panthers, 5-1 on Saturday night. Earlier this season, Zatkoff made his first career start for Pittsburgh in Floridas home opener, a 6-3 loss on Oct. 11. "Its nice to get a second crack at these guys," Zatkoff said. "You always want to play well, especially against a team that put up six on you the last time. I know that wasnt my best the first time around. To be able to come back and get that second opportunity is nice." Jussi Jokinen, James Neal, Chris Kunitz and Joe Vitale also scored goals for Pittsburgh, which won its third straight game. Zatkoffs play impressed Penguins coach Dan Bylsma. "I can reference his first game in this building, but its been a while between those starts," Bylsma said. "Tonight I thought he was very good, came up big for us on numerous occasions. I think our best player (was) Jeff Zatkoff." Malkin has four goals and 13 assists during an eight-game point streak. Malkin has 35 points this season, one behind Sidney Crosby, who leads the NHL. "Id love to see them both at the top at the end of the year," Bylsma said. Neal also had an assist and has 13 points in his past seven games. Scottie Upshall scored for Florida and Tim Thomas allowed four goals on 13 shots. Thomas was replaced by Scott Clemmensen to start the third period. Clemmensen made eight saves. Thomas also gave up four goals in the Panthers previous game, a 5-3 loss to the New York Rangers on Wednesday. Florida has lost four of its past five games. "Were shooting ourselves in the foot, myself included," Thomas said. "t;That first goal shot the big toe off, and a couple of the other goals we shot a couple of the other toes off.dddddddddddd. Thats happening on a relatively consistent basis." The goalie change didnt slow down the Penguins. Jokinen took a pass from Malkin in the slot and rifled it over the glove of Clemmensen at 6:10 of the third to make it 5-1. Trailing 3-0, the Panthers got on the board on Upshalls power-play goal in the second. Upshall brought the puck in from the left side and beat Zatkoff with a backhand at 17:53. The Penguins got it right back when Neal scored just 29 seconds later. Neals wrist shot from low in the right circle whistled past Thomas to make it 4-1. The Penguins stretched their lead to 3-0 on Malkins goal in the second. Malkin brought the puck through the Panthers zone and beat Thomas on the left side with a backhand shot at 7:23. The Panthers had a goal disallowed on review in the second. Sean Bergenheim pushed the puck to the front of the crease and it was ruled that it was kicked in by Brad Boyes. "If you get 40 shots a game, youd think that youd try to keep things close," Upshall said. "He (Zatkoff) made some great saves." The Penguins scored two goals in 32 seconds in the first period. During a power play, Neal passed from the left side to Kunitz in the slot. Thomas fell down and Kunitz found the open net at 10:45 to make it 1-0. It was the third goal in two games for Kunitz. Jayson Megna shot from the slot and Vitale slid the rebound across the goal line at 11:17 for a 2-0 lead. NOTES: Penguins goalie Tomas Vokoun, on injured reserve since Sept. 30 following surgery for a blood clot, spoke with reporters between periods and said he still hopes to resume his career. ... Bergenheim played in his 400th NHL game. ... Florida C Jesse Winchester returned after missing three games with a lower body injury. wholesale jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '