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Golf fans hoping to see another Tiger Woods major got some bad news on Friday when the superstar announced that he’d undergone yet another back surgery.
Woods, who played in just five events in 2024, announced on his Twitter page that he had surgery to relieve pressure on a nerve in his lumbar spine.
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) September 13, 2024
Tiger Woods Gives Detailed Update After Spinal Decompression Surgery
“Earlier this morning Tiger underwent microdecompression surgery of the lumbar spine for nerve impingement in the lower back,” the statement read. “Dr. Sheerez Qureshi of Hospital for Special Surgery in West Palm Beach performed the surgery and deemed it to be successful”
“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. “I look forward to tackling this rehab and preparing myself to get back to normal activities, including golf.”
Woods’ outlook when it comes to competing for major championships going forward was already bleak. He has extremely limited mobility in his ankle after surgery following a car crash in 2021. Woods also previously underwent multiple surgeries on his back, including a spinal fusion in 2017.
While it’s nice to see he’s optmistic about a return, and this should well help his day-to-day life, it’s impossible expect his body to hold up over the course of a major tournament.
And that’s without taking into account the time and effort that goes into preparing for those events.
Earlier this year, former Ryder Cup rival Colin Montgomerie suggested Woods call it a career.
“I hope people remember Tiger as Tiger was, the passion and the charismatic aura around him,” Montgomerie told the Times. “There is none of that now. At Pinehurst he did not seem to enjoy a single shot and you think, ‘What the hell is he doing?’ He’s coming to Troon and he won’t enjoy it there either.”
Looking at it now, it’s hard to argue with Montgomerie’s point of view. Though ultimately it’s Tiger, and only Tiger, who gets to make that decision.