Tiger backs out of Masters

Surgery to repair pinched nerve forces withdrawal

Tiger Woods chose surgery to heal his ailing back over a quest for another green jacket, announcing on Tuesday he will miss the Masters for the first time in his career.

Woods said on his website he had surgery on Monday in Utah for a pinched nerve that had been hurting him for several months, knowing the surgery would keep him from Augusta National next week for the first time since he was a senior in high school.