Tiger Woods: 15-time major champion reveals “successful” back surgery following new injury setback for comeback hopes | Golf news
Tiger Woods has suffered a fresh injury after confirming he had “successful” back surgery to try to curb “pain and lack of mobility”.
The 15-time major winner underwent lumbar disc replacement surgery after experiencing lower back pain, the second time he has undergone back surgery in just over a year and at least the seventh he has had in his career.
Woods’ surgery was performed Friday at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, and the 49-year-old has yet to confirm a timetable for his final rehabilitation or a proposed date for a potential return to competition.
In a statement posted on social media, Woods said: “After experiencing pain and lack of mobility in my back, I consulted doctors and surgeons for tests.
“Scans determined it was a collapsed disc at L4/5, disc fragments and a compromised spinal canal. I chose to have my disc replaced yesterday and I already know I made a good decision for my health and my back.”
Woods’ latest surgery will raise more doubts about his potential to return to the professional game, having made just 11 competitive starts on the PGA Tour since a car crash in February 2021 left him with career-threatening injuries.
He completed a full major schedule in 2024 for the first time in five years, finishing last of those who managed to qualify for the weekend at the Masters before missing the cut in the other three, but skipping the entire 2025 major season due to injury.
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Tiger Woods carded a first-round 79 as he was set to miss the cut at the Open in July 2024.
Woods’ only appearances since missing the cut at the Open last July have been alongside his son Charlie at the PNC Championship last December – where he could use a golf cart – and TGL matches for Jupiter Links GC.
He was scheduled to make a return at the Genesis Invitational earlier this year, but withdrew following the death of his mother the previous week, then has not competed since rupturing his left Achilles tendon while training at home in March.
Woods was absent from the initial field for the Hero World Challenge, an event he is hosting in the Bahamas from December 4-7, while the five-time Masters winner has yet to confirm whether he will play the PNC Championship later this month for the sixth consecutive year.
He turns 50 on December 30, making him eligible to play on the PGA Tour Champions starting next season, while his limited playing schedule in recent seasons has seen him fall out of the world’s top 2,000.
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