Woods hopes to compete next week

Tiger Woods said that has suffered only a mild strain of his left Achilles tendon and that he is hopeful of playing in next week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational next week as planned.

Woods withdrew from the World Golf Championships event at Doral on Sunday after hitting his tee shot on the 12th hole, complaining of a tightness in his left Achilles tendon, the same one he hurt at last year’s Masters tournament.

After a physician examined Woods on Monday, the former world number one reported the progress on his Twitter microblogging website.

“Got good news from doc tonight. Only mild strain of left Achilles,” Woods posted on Twitter. “Can resume hitting balls late in week and hopeful for next week.”

Woods had planned to play next week’s PGA event at Bay Hill as his final tune-up for the year’s first major, the Masters, which tees off on April 5 at Augusta National Golf Club.

The latest injury scare for Woods has the golf world wondering if the 14-time major champion will ever win again, much less challenge the all-time record of 18 major titles won by Jack Nicklaus. Woods has not won an official event on any tour since the Australian Masters on November 15, 2009, just before the revelations of a secret sex life that led to his divorce from ex-wife Elin Nordegren.

For the fourth time in five years, Woods faces a major setback to his season, having battled through a left knee injury in 2008 to win the US Open, knee and tendon pain last year and the aftermath to his sex scandal in 2010.

Woods has undergone four operations on his left knee, including reconstructive surgery after he limped through a play-off to win the 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines, his most recent major triumph. Missing another chance at a fifth green jacket would be yet another setback in Woods’ quest to break the major mark of Nicklaus, his boyhood idol.