Tiger Woods undergoes lumbar disc replacement surgery; return to PGA Tour halted

Tiger Woods, the 15-time major champion and one of the greatest golfers of all-time, has undergone a lumbar disc replacement surgery, which means that his plans to return to the PGA Tour have been halted for the time being. The 49-year-old hasn’t played professionally since he missed the cut at The Open in July last year, and now, he released a statement to announce the seventh procedure on his back in the last decade.

Notably, it was in March this year when Tiger Woods had a surgery to repair a ruptured left Achilles tendon, an injury that happened when he was training at home in preparation for return to the sport at the Masters in April. Just weeks before missing out on playing the coveted major tournament, he was slated to be at the Genesis

Invitational in February, but it didn’t materialise due to the death of his mother.

I already know I made a good decision for my health and my back: Tiger Woods

Since February 2021, when he suffered a lot of injuries in a car accident, Tiger Woods has played a handful of golf tournaments, and the current run of fitness issues hasn’t helped his cause either. Currently, he is not a part of the initial player list released for the Hero World Challenge this December, a tournament in which he is also the host as well.

In his official statement about the latest development, shared on X, Tiger Woods said, “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.”

It also mentioned that the lumber disc replacement surgery was performed by Dr Sheeraz Qureshi in New York, and it was “deemed successful”.