For the second straight year, Tiger Woods is skipping the Arnold Palmer Invitational, a tournament he has won eight times.

"He is not going to play,'' Woods' agent, Mark Steinberg, said in a text to ESPN. "Back still stiff and just not quite ready.''

Woods opted to skip the WGC-Mexico Championship last week after saying he had back stiffness two weeks ago at the Genesis Invitational.

A year ago, Woods cited a neck strain for withdrawing from the event on the Monday of tournament week. He then went on to compete in the Players Championship a week later as well as the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play Championship prior to winning the Masters.

This time, Woods never entered the tournament. If healthy, Woods would be expected to play the Players Championship, which begins on March 12.

Woods cited back stiffness as the reason for a lackluster performance at the Genesis Invitational, where he finished 68th -- last among players who made the cut. He said then that the reason he was skipping the Mexico event was his inability to be properly prepared.

And as he has done frequently, Woods said he would not be playing as much as he did two years ago, when he returned from spinal fusion surgery and played 18 times in 2018.

"You know, that's the fun part of trying to figure this whole comeback -- how much do I play, when do I play, do I listen to the body or do I fight through it?'' Woods said at Riviera. "There are some things I can push and some things I can't. And so I had a theory this year that I may play about the same amount. What did I play, 12 times last year [during the 2018-19 season], and so that's kind of my number for the year.

"I can't play a lot more than that just because of the physical toll and I want to stay out here for just a little bit longer.''

Tiger Woods tied for fifth the last time he played the Arnold Palmer Invitational in 2018. Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

Woods spent most of the time after winning the Masters in 2019 dealing with physical ailments, never finishing better than a tie for ninth at the Memorial. He missed the cut in two major championships and did not qualify for the season-ending Tour Championship.

He then had arthroscopic knee surgery and disclosed that his left knee had been bothering him for much of the year and that it led to other issues, including his back.

In his first event following the knee procedure more than two months later, Woods won the Zozo Championship for his 82nd PGA Tour title. He then finished fourth at the Hero World Challenge, went 3-0 at the Presidents Cup and tied for ninth last month at the Farmers Insurance Open. The Genesis was just the second time in Woods' career that he finished last among players who made the cut.