What do we know about Tiger Woods’ back surgery?

Regardless of the sport in question, one has to feel sympathy when an athlete faces the question of whether their body can still perform at the required level. While the answer is not so black a white, the asking of it is no less difficult.

Tiger Woods goes under the knife again.

According to reports on Friday, Tiger Woods had micro-depression surgery of the lumbar spine for nerve impingement in the lower back. While the extent of what that means for Woods going forward remains to be seen, what is certain is that the operation which was performed in West Palm Beach, Florida, marked the 48-year-old’s sixth back-related procedure in the last ten years.

“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 the rehab and preparing myself to get back to normal life activities, including Golf.” In his statement, Woods also added that the surgery was performed by Dr. Sheeraz Qereshi of the Hospital for Special Surgery.

Where context is concerned, it’s worth noting that Woods has featured in only five tournaments this year including the recent Genesis Invitational where he withdrew after the first round due to illness. It should also be said that Woods continues to be plagued by chronic pain in his lower left leg as a result of a severe car crash in February 2021. To that end, Woods has played only 11 official rounds of Golf this year, some of which were at the Masters where he made the cut for a record 24th time, the PGA Championship where he finished 60th, and both the U.S. Open and British Open where he failed to make the cut.

Will this operation bring relief to the 15-time major winner? That remains to be seen but this, as they say, is not his first rodeo. Back in 2014 Woods had microdiscectomy procedures to alleviate disc problems in his lower back, twice in 2015 and again in 2020, just a few months before that fateful crash. There was also April 2017 when Woods endured spinal fusion resulting in his lower spine fusing - it was thought to be career-ending at the time. Ultimately, while the news does come as a blow, it is in keeping with his comments following his last round at Royal Troon earlier this summer, when he stated that it was unlikely that he would play again this year until the event that benefits his foundation, the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas which is held in early December.