The prospects of Tiger Woods returning to competitive golf are growing ever bleaker after he disclosed he has been forced to undergo further back surgery.
The 15-time major winner revealed in a statement on Saturday that pain and a lack of mobility had necessitated the replacement of a disc in his lower spine on Friday.
Taking to X, the statement read: ‘After experiencing pain and lack of mobility in my back, I consulted with Doctors and Surgeons to have tests taken.
‘The scans determined that I had a collapsed disc in L4/5, disc fragments and a compromised spinal canal. I opted to have my disc replaced yesterday, and I already know I made a good decision for my health and my back.’ – TW
The statement continued: ‘On Friday, Tiger underwent lumbar disc replacement surgery in his L4/5 Lumbar spine for lower back symptoms.
‘The surgery was deemed successful and performed by Dr. Sheeraz Qureshi and his team at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York’.
Remarkably, it was the seventh time the 49-year-old has had an operation on his back, which included the drastic measure of spinal fusion in 2017.
The former world No 1 has not competed since the Open in 2014 and had been making slow progress towards a return after a ruptured Achilles tendon in March.
While no date had been pencilled in for Woods’s return, there was a general expectancy that he would play some part in the forthcoming new season of his TGL indoor league.
His latest setback will presumably eliminate those chances and add to questions around whether he will ever again be fit enough to manage any kind of sustained comeback.
It marks his third major surgery in just two years, having undergone the Achilles operation earlier this, a microdecompression in 2024 and an ankle surgery in 2023.
Woods, an 82-time winner on the PGA Tour, suffered extensive injuries from a horror, single-vehicle car crash in 2021 that broke his right leg and ankle and required emergency surgery.
More to follow…
