New Delhi, Oct 12 (IANS) The 15-time major champion Tiger Woods has said that he has undergone lumbar disc replacement surgery after experiencing pain and lack of mobility. 

The surgery was performed by Dr. Sheeraz Qureshi and his team at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York and was deemed successful.

“After experiencing pain and lack of mobility in my back, I consulted with doctors and surgeons to have tests taken. The scans determined that I had a collapsed disc in L4/5, disc fragments and a compromised spinal canal. I opted to have my disc replaced yesterday, and I already know I made a good decision for my health and my back,” Woods said in a statement he shared on social media.

This is the second back surgery in just over a year for Woods, who had a microdecompression surgery on his lumbar spine in September 2024 to relieve a nerve impingement of his lower back. That procedure also was performed by Qureshi, but at his surgical location in West Palm Beach, Florida.

In March, the American ace ruptured his left Achilles and underwent successful surgery to repair the tendon. Dr. Charlton Stucken of Hospital for Special Surgery in West Palm Beach, Florida, performed a minimally invasive Achilles tendon repair for a ruptured tendon.

Woods, who turns 50 in December, hasn’t made a PGA Tour start since 2023 at The Open Championship at Royal Troon. He played PGA Tour Champions’ 2024 PNC Championship (in a cart) alongside son Charlie. Early in 2025, he had planned to play The Genesis Invitational, which he hosts in February, but opted not to compete due to his mother’s death the week prior.

He was not among the names in the recently announced field for the World Challenge, the tournament he hosts in Albany, Bahamas, set for December 4 to 7.

–IANS

bc/