Tiger Woods had yet another surgery on his lower back Friday morning. This recent procedure is meant to relieve back spasms Woods has experienced.
It was the sixth surgery on his lower back in the past 10 years.
In a post to X, Woods’ team stated the procedure was “micro decompression surgery” of the lumbar spine to alleviate nerve impingement in the lower back. A more common name for the surgery is microdiscectomy, which has a recovery time of eight to 12 weeks.
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) September 13, 2024
Woods has just two events on the calendar for the remainder of 2024: the Hero World Challenge (Dec. 5-8) in the Bahamas, which he also hosts, and the PNC Family Championship (Dec. 21-22) in Orlando. (An eight-week recovery would have a Nov. 8 target date, while 12 weeks would push it out to Dec. 6.)
“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 the statement.
Woods added, “I look forward to tackling this rehab and preparing myself to get back to normal life activities, including golf.”
Woods has undergone multiple surgeries on his back and knees throughout the years. In 2017, Woods had his lower back fused, ahead of a career resurgence in which he won three times in a 12-start span, highlighted by victories at the 2018 Tour Championship and 2019 Masters.
Since a serious car accident in Feb. 2021, Woods has made just ten official tour starts, finishing in the money just three times. In 2024, he made five starts, posting results of WD (Genesis), 60th (Masters), MC (PGA), MC (US Open), and MC (The Open). Woods failed to break par in each of his major rounds in 2024.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
