"I've been playing through it," Woods said of pain he first felt before the Masters. "I can't play through it anymore."

Woods said he did not know what caused the injury, only that "playing doesn't help it." He took 10 questions before going into a physical therapy trailer for 37 minutes and leaving the TPC Sawgrass.

This is Woods' first withdrawal from a tournament since the Nissan Open at Riviera in 2006, when he narrowly made the cut and withdrew from the final two rounds because of the flu. He also withdrew from the 1995 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills as a 19-year-old amateur because of a wrist injury from hitting out of deep rough.

The only time he has mentioned his neck was during his news conference last month at the Masters.

Woods was taken to the hospital Nov. 27 after driving his SUV over a fire hydrant and into a tree, the infamous accident that set off shocking revelations of extramarital affairs that led to his five-month break from golf.

Asked at Augusta what injuries he suffered that night, Woods said, "I had a busted-up lip and a pretty sore neck, and that was it."

He didn't mention the pain when he missed the cut last week for the sixth time in his career at Quail Hollow. But it became obvious something was wrong Sunday on the par-4 seventh hole at Sawgrass.

After hitting his tee shot well right, Woods called for an official. He hit his second shot and grimaced, then walked to the middle of the fairway, shook hands with playing partner Jason Bohn and left in a golf cart. Fans gave him a warm ovation, with one man shouting, "Hurry back, Tiger."

Bohn noticed that Woods loosened his neck muscles on the first tee, but he didn't see any signs Woods was in pain until they exchanged pleasantries in the seventh fairway.

"He just said, 'I'm done,' " Bohn said. "Then I kind of inquired about it. I said, 'Are you OK?' ... I said, 'Is it your wrist?' He said, 'No, it's my neck.' I could tell when he shook his hand; he kind of stiffened up. When your neck hurts, it's pretty severe. But you could tell when he was leaving he was in pain."

The large gallery following Woods dispersed soon after he did. Bohn played the final 11 holes alone -- without all the FBI agents dressed in plain clothes, sheriff's officers and extra volunteers who followed Woods around the Stadium Course all week.

"I was a little disappointed," Bohn said jokingly after shooting an 8-over 80. "I thought they were there for me to be honest."

Woods said he plans to have an MRI this week. He said he was having a hard time with the pain, and that there was a tingling sensation on his right side down to his fingers. As he was driven from the golf course, Woods continually squeezed his right hand and released his fingers.

"I might have a bulging disk," he said.