Tiger Woods’ 2021 season on hold after announcing he’s undergone back surgery procedure to remove a pressurized disc fragment that was pinching a nerve.
The following written content by Daniel Rapaport
Tiger Woods’ 2021 season is on hold after he announced that he underwent a microdiscectomy procedure on his back to remove a pressurized disc fragment that was pinching a nerve.
He is expected to be sidelined through at least the first two-plus months of the year and will miss both the Farmers Insurance Open and the Genesis Invitational, where he doubles as tournament host.
The operation was brought on by discomfort Woods felt following the PNC Championship in December. Doctors characterized the surgery as a success and expect a full recovery, per Woods’ release, and sources close to Tiger say the hope is he can return to play in time for the Masters, which begins April 8.
It’s the fifth operation Woods, 45, has had on his back and the first since a spinal-fusion surgery in April 2017. He previously had the microdiscectomy surgery three times in 2014-15. “I look forward to begin training and am focused on getting back out on tour,” Woods said in a statement.
Woods’ back has been an issue for the better part of the decade, and he was able to play just one PGA Tour event—a missed cut at the 2016 Farmers Insurance Open—between August 2015 and December 2017. He suggested at the 2017 Presidents Cup that his days as a competitive golfer might be over, but the fusion proved to be Woods’ lifeline back to competition.
Advertisement
He resumed play in late in 2017, then competed in 18 events in 2018, highlighted by a victory at the Tour Championship that August. Seven months later, he went on to claim his fifth Masters in spectacular fashion, adding a 15th major title and first in nearly 11 years. It capped one of the more remarkable comeback stories in sports history and re-established Woods as a force at the top of the game.
Woods took the next month off to celebrate the victory, then struggled to play with the same consistency upon his return that summer. In August 2019, he underwent an arthroscopic procedure to his left knee—his fifth operation on that knee—and missed three months, only to win his first event back at the Zozo Championship in Japan. That marked his 82nd PGA Tour victory, tying Sam Snead for the all-time record. Read more from Golf Digest.
Stay informed daily. unbiased news fair and balanced, ahead of influence.
