Tiger Woods undergoes back surgery

Tiger Woods announced Friday that he underwent another surgery on his back. The microdecompression surgery of Woods' lumbar spine was performed for a nerve impingement of his lower back. The procedure was performed Friday morning by Dr. Sheeraz Qureshi of the Hospital for Special Surgery in West Palm Beach, Florida

“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 posted to his X account. “I look forward to tackling this rehab and preparing myself to get back to normal life activities, including golf.”

The announcement did not include a timetable for his return to golf. Woods last played in The Open Championship in July and left Royal Troon saying that he would play in his traditional December exhibitions, the Hero World Challenge that he hosts in the Bahamas and the parent-child PNC Championship that he plays alongside son Charlie. The procedure is not expected to impact his participation in the inaugural season of the TGL.

Woods has played infrequently since he sustained significant injuries in a 2021 single-car accident. He’s made 10 official PGA TOUR starts since and completed four rounds only twice. He made the cut at this year’s Masters, but shot 82-77 on the weekend to finish last. He missed the cut at the next three major championships.

The microdecompression surgery is the latest in a long line of back issues for Woods. He first cited back pain more than a decade ago when he withdrew from the 2014 Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches with back spasms. Woods underwent surgery for a pinched nerve later that spring and missed the Masters for the first time in his pro career. He withdrew from numerous events over the next several years, citing back pain.

“I'm always going to feel soreness and stiffness in my back,” Woods said at this year’s PGA Championship.

In total, Woods underwent five microdisectomy surgeries on his back from April 2014 to January 2021, the last coming just a month before Woods was involved in a single-vehicle rollover accident outside of Los Angeles. The accident further complicated Woods’ health, particularly in his lower body. Woods suffered comminuted open fractures to the upper and lower sections of his right leg, as well as significant trauma to his right ankle. Doctors inserted a rod, screws and pins to stabilize Woods’ leg. He withdrew from the third round of the 2023 Masters, citing plantar fasciitis in his right ankle. Later that month, he underwent a subtalar fusion procedure to the issue and missed the next 10 months.

Woods had hoped to play more frequently in 2024, saying at the Hero World Challenge last December that his goal was to play once a month. That didn’t come to fruition. His body didn’t hold up, and it forced him to withdraw from The Genesis Invitational in February, his first start of the year. His only other starts were the four major championships.

Now he faces yet another recovery. When he will make his next start is anybody’s best guess.