Tiger Woods is suffering from an inflammed neck joint, an MRI scan revealed Wednesday. Woods announced on his website that he has been diagnosed with inflammation of the facet joint in his neck and says he will treat it with physio therapy, anti-inflammatory drugs and massages. He said the injury gives him headaches and he has trouble moving his head from side-to-side. “I want to thank everyone for their caring and concern,” Woods said. “I now need to take care of this condition and will return to playing golf when I'm physically able.” The world's No. 1 player withdrew on the seventh hole of the final round Sunday at The Players Championship. The 14-time major winner added that the prognosis was for a full recovery, although a return date to competitive golf was contingent on how quickly the condition healed. He added he had been troubled by neck pain since returning from self-imposed exile at last month's US Masters but added it was not related to the car crash outside his home last year that led to revelations about his marital infidelities. Woods' only prior public reference to a neck problem came at the Masters, when he listed a “busted-up lip and a pretty sore neck” as the only injuries he suffered in the car smash. American tabloid paper National Enquirer reported last month that as part of Woods' treatment for sex addiction at the Gentle Path center in Mississipi he was required to provide his wife, former Swedish model Elin Nordegren, with a list of all the women he had had affairs with. The story quotes a source saying that Nordegren has signed the divorce papers. Kingston leads Mallorca Open In Balearic Islands, South Africa's James Kingston hit a 5-under 65 to lead after the first round of the Mallorca Open Thursday. Kingston carded six birdies against one bogey at the 6,915-yard Pula Golf Club and lay two strokes ahead of Spain's Alvaro Velasco, who scored 67. “It was actually an easy round,” said Kingston, a two-time European Tour winner. Denmark's Thorbjorn Olesen, Frances's Raphael Jacquelin, Irishman Gary Murphy and Spain's Alejandro Canizares followed, each with 68s.
