Tiger Woods has undergone another surgery, this time for his lower back.
Woods’ social media accounts announced that the 15-time major winner visited the Hospital for Special Surgery in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Friday for a microdecompression surgery of the lumbar spine for nerve impingement.
“The surgery went smoothly, and I’m hopeful this will help alleviate the back spasms and pain I was experiencing throughout most of the 2024 season,” Woods said in a statement. “I look forward to tackling this rehab and preparing myself to get back to normal life activities, including golf.”
What this means for Woods’ immediate future—specifically, the Hero World Challenge, PNC Championship and his TGL virtual simulation league that’s supposed to begin in early 2025—is unclear.
Earlier this summer the PGA Tour Policy Board approved an exemption that allows Woods entry into every signature event. How often Woods would be able to play, however, is the bigger question. Woods competed just five times in 2024, missing the cut in three appearances and withdrawing midway through the second round at his Genesis Invitational. Since winning the 2019 Masters he has failed to finish inside the top 20 at a major and has either missed the cut or withdrawn in six of the last eight. He’s played four rounds of an official tournament just three times in the last four seasons. This is partly an upshot of the fact he hardly plays at all. The last time Woods teed it up at an event that wasn’t a) a major, b) the Genesis Invitational or c) a silly-season event was in the summer of 2020.
This is Woods’ sixth back surgery that has been publicly acknowledged, the first since 2021. Woods missed most of the 2023 season following a subtalar fusion procedure to address post-traumatic arthritis from the injuries to his right foot suffered in a car accident in 2021. Woods turns 49 this December.
Main Image: Stuart Franklin/R&A
