Woods was driven off the course after his injury forced him out of the event

Tiger Woods says there is no link between the neck injury that forced him to pull out of the Players Championship and the car crash he had in November.

The 14-time major champion was admitted to hospital after the crash last year and was out of action for five months because of a damaging sex scandal.

When asked if his neck problem was related to the crash, Woods said there was "zero connection, absolutely zero".

And referring to his future schedule he admitted "a lot is up in the air".

However, Woods revealed that he wants to defend his title at the Memorial tournament next month, and play the US Open at Pebble Beach later in June.

The 34-year-old crashed his car into a fire hydrant outside his Florida home on 27 November 2009, with the incident sparking a series of revelations about the American's private life that led him to admit he had "had affairs and cheated".

"It's possible one of the reasons I think this thing flared up is because I wasn't conditioned to it," said Woods.

"I'd been away from the game for such a long time, then came back and ramped up really quickly in order to try and play the Masters. The body wasn't quite ready for that.

"I'm trying everything I can to get back as soon as I can."

IAIN CARTER'S BLOG Woods left observers bemused by a long-standing injury that he denied existed only two days earlier

On Sunday on the seventh hole of the final round of the Players Championship, Woods called over an official after his tee-shot and although he hit his second shot, he then shook hands with partner Jason Bohn and left the course.

Woods, who was playing only his third event since returning after admitting marital infidelity, was two over par for the day and two under overall.

"I've been playing with a bad neck for about a month," said Woods on Sunday.

"I've been playing through it. I can't play through it any more. I'm having a hard time with the pain - there's tingling down my fingers.

"Setting up over the ball is fine, but once I start making the motion it's downhill from there."

The world number one said he first felt the injury before last month's Masters at Augusta and now plans to have an MRI scan.

"They want me to go get a picture on it next week. I might have a bulging disc," he added.

Woods stretched and rolled his neck between shots during the first three days at the Players Championship but when asked after the third round whether he had any injury concerns, he replied: "No, zero. Absolutely 100%."

He was tied for 45th going into the final round after scores of 70-71-71.

Woods last withdrew from a tournament at the Nissan Open in 2006, when he narrowly made the cut but pulled out of the final two rounds because of flu.

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