Tiger Woods Delays Competitive Return Indefinitely After Needing New Surgery

Another setback blocked the legendary golfer from going back to professional golf.

Tiger Woods returned to the operating room for another back surgery on Saturday, just a day after his doctors treated a collapsed lumbar disc on Friday. The 49-year-old golf champ announced the latest health update on X (formerly Twitter), saying that he needed to have a disc replaced as soon as possible.

'The scans determined that I had a collapsed disc in L4/5, disc fragments and a compromised spinal canal,' Woods shared. 'I opted to have my disc replaced yesterday, and I already know I made a good decision for my health and my back.'

Wood already missed several opportunities from this year's PGA Tour after recovering from his ruptured Achilles tendon diagnosed in March.

Wood's History of Injuries

The World Golf Hall of Fame awardee has undergone multiple back surgeries since the beginning of his career in 1996.

He initially had a microdiscectomy in 2014, making him miss the Masters Tournament for the first time. His pain and treatments went on until the 2014-2015 seasons, when he had the second back pain condition. The back discomfort continued until the 2016-2017 season. He also went to a fourth surgery in two years.

He made a major comeback in 2018, but he could not maintain the same performances he had when he was a younger athlete.

Woods also went through several knee, leg, ankle and Achilles surgeries over the years. With each setback, he became more determined to fight back and reach the top of the professional golf rankings.

While he successfully recovered from each surgery, the effects have compounded on each other. The success of the latest surgery does not guarantee a timetable for his highly anticipated return to golf.

Woods has not played golf professionally since the PNC Championship in December last year.

Father-Son Duo

Before the surgeries, the golfing world was looking forward to seeing Woods play with his son, Charlie, for the Hero World Championship or the PNC Championship. He was one of the up-and-coming athletes from The Benjamin School's boys golf team.

The teenage golfer's performances at the famous tournaments during the last few months made a favourable impression, but his actions led The Benjamin School into the championship.

Charlie's score of 68 shots was enough to give his school the highly coveted championship trophy. At 16-years-old, Charlie already got the media attention and expectations are high as he led his school in each tournament.

Those who are waiting for Tiger Woods and his son to play together professionally may be a little disappointed with the recent turn of events. Tiger has yet to fully recover from his injuries, making a major pro comeback highly unlikely at least within the year.

Meanwhile, fans need to have to wait a little longer to be able to see the father and son line-up in the meantime. The multi-awarded champion needs to fully recover from his injuries first to go back to his prime. It will allow him to play golf together professionally with his son.