Tiger Woods Undergoes Another Back Surgery

Woods made the announcement Friday on his social media channels. He played in just five events this year, and it's believed to be his sixth career back surgery.

Woods had what is believed to be his sixth back surgery. / Jack Gruber-Imagn Images

Tiger Woods had micro decompression surgery of the lumbar spine for nerve impingement in the lower back, according to a social media post on Friday.

Woods, 48, had the surgery performed in West Palm Beach, Florida, and it is believed to be the sixth time he’s had some sort of back procedure in the last decade.

“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.’’

According to Woods’s statement, the surgery was performed by Dr. Sheeraz Qereshi of Hospital for Special Surgery.

Woods played in just five tournaments this year, withdrawing after one round due to illness at the Genesis Invitational, making the cut for a record 24th consecutive time at the Masters but finishing 60th at the PGA Championship and then missing cuts at the U.S. Open and British Open.

The 15-time major champion, who also continues to deal with issues in his lower right leg due to a serious car crash in February of 2021, played just 11 official rounds this year.

Woods has had a microdiscectomy procedures to alleviate disc issues in his lower back in 2014, twice in 2015 and again in 2020, just a few months prior to the car crash.

In April of 2017, Woods had a spinal fusion, thought to possibly be career-ending, which fused his lower spine. Less than a year later, he returned to competitive golf, winning the Tour Championship in 2018, followed by the Masters for his 15th major in 2019. Later that year, he won the ZOZO Championship for his 82nd PGA Tour title, tying a record held by Sam Snead.

Woods took part earlier this week in activities at the Nexus Cup, an event held at Liberty National in New Jersey in conjunction with his TGR Foundation.

He said following his last round at Royal Troon this summer that he did not expect to play any competitive golf again this year until the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas in early December, an event that benefits his foundation.