Tiger Woods is not the only golfer in the field at this week’s Barclays event to complain of a bad back. Ben Crane, who entered the first of four FedEx Cup playoff events on the bubble at No. 125 in points, completed a weather-delayed first round with a 4-under 67 on Friday morning that put him three shots off the pace.
Bubble Boy Ben Crane withdraws from The Barclays with bad back
Ben Crane was making a move off the bubble and into next week’s Deutsche Bank Championship when his back gave out, forcing him to prematurely withdraw.
Michael Cohen
Four holes into his second round, however, Crane withdrew from the contest with a sore lower back.
“Just been battling a disk injury, and just got to where I couldn’t play,” Crane, who was hoping to play his way into next week’s Deutsche Bank Championship by moving into the top 100 with a strong start at Liberty National Golf Course, told PGATour.com’s Helen Ross.
“Just bummed,” said Crane, who rapped about his Bubble Boy status before this week’s event. “I just figured some stuff out this week, and was really excited about it. And it showed up in the first round, and then, you know, obviously not feeling good prevents you from doing what you want to do.”
Crane was the second player to withdraw from the competition. Lucas Glover, citing an injured wrist, made an early exit Friday after playing three holes of his second round.
As for Woods, he and his aching back will enter Friday’s second round at least five shots out of first place after Webb Simpson posted a second-round 5-under 66 to take the early 36-hole lead in the clubhouse at 9-under. Woods posted a bogey-less 67 in Thursday’s opener and was slated to continue his quest for his first Barclays win at 4:06 p.m. ET off the first tee at Liberty National.
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