Tiger Woods Undergoes New Surgery, Plans PGA Tour Return

Professional golfer and global sports icon Tiger Woods has once again undergone plastic surgery in an attempt to treat the lower back problems that have plagued him for much of the past year.

On Friday, September 13, Wood posted a statement on his X account detailing the procedure.

“Earlier this morning, Tiger underwent microdecompression surgery on his lumbar spine due to a pinched nerve in his lower back,” the statement read. “Dr. Sheeraz Qureshi of the Hospital for Special Surgery in West Palm Beach performed the procedure and declared it a success.”

“The surgery went smoothly and I’m hopeful that it will help alleviate the back spasms and pain I’ve been experiencing for most of the 2024 season,” Woods said. “I can’t wait to get started on this rehab and get ready to get back to normal activities, including playing golf.”

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Tiger Woods Barely Played in 2024, Hasn’t Won on PGA Tour in 5 Years

Woods, now 48, is currently ranked 975th in the world. He has 82 PGA Tour victories, though his last came five years ago at the ZOZO Championship.

Woods has amassed 15 major victories in his career. However, his last major win came when he captured the 2019 Masters Championship at Augusta National Golf Club. Ironically, the 2024 Masters Tournament in early April was the last event Woods made the cut in.

ESPN reported that Woods took the first tee box in just five events last season: all four majors along with the Genesis Invitational at Riviera. Woods is serving as tournament host for the latter event, but withdrew early in the second round this year due to illness.

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Tiger Woods’ long injury history raises questions about how many more surgeries and comebacks he can endure

Woods is one of the greatest golfers in the history of the sport by any measure, with many analysts and pundits arguing he is the greatest of all time.

However, the number of serious injuries and surgeries he has had to deal with over the past few years raises the question of how much longer he will be able to compete at a high level.

Phil Mickelson is the oldest player to ever win a major, having done so at just 51 when he won the PGA Championship three years ago.

Woods will turn 49 on Dec. 30, making him older than Julius Boros — the second-oldest major champion in history — who won the PGA Championship in 1968 at 48 years, 4 months and 18 days old, according to ESPN.

Tom Watson lost in a four-hole playoff to Stewart Cink at the 2009 Open Championship, finishing second in the tournament at the age of 59.

Greg Norman, then 53, had a 54-hole lead at the 2008 Open Championship a year before Watson’s run. But he ultimately lost to KJ Choi by one stroke and finished second.

Woods has always been a fitness fanatic, and if he can get his back and legs back on track after several years of frequent and serious injuries, he may be able to compete in the points in the big moments for another decade. But if not, golf fans may have seen Woods in the PGA Tour’s winner’s circle for the last time.

It is worth adding that Woods will be eligible to join the PGA Champions Tour, commonly known as the Senior Tour, when he turns 50 at the end of 2025.

Max Dible covers the NFL, NBA and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. He covered local and statewide news as a reporter for West Hawaii Today and served as news director for BigIslandNow.com and the Pacific Media Group family of Big Island radio stations before joining Heavy. More about Max Dible