Fusion surgery makes Woods feel the best
IT WAS HIS FOURTH BACK OPERATION SINCE 2010
ormer world No. 1 Tiger Woods said on Wednesday he is feeling better than he has for years and the 14time major winner remains committed to playing pro golf again.
In a blog posting through his Twitter feed, Woods spoke for the first time about his April 20 fusion surgery, his fourth back operation since 2010 and one that cut short his 2017 campaign.
“It has been just over a month since I underwent fusion surgery on my back and it is hard to express how much better I feel,” Woods said. “It was instant nerve relief. I haven’t felt this good in years.”
Woods, who last won a major title at the 2008 US Open with a broken leg, missed all four majors in 2016 and skipped last month’s Masters as well, saying he was not tournament ready.
“I did everything I could to play at Augusta and was ready to go,” Woods said. “Unfortunately, it was kind of like the 2008 US Open. The pain was post-impact when I swung the club. I figured, ‘Can I handle it?’ This time the answer was, ‘probably not.’ That shows the effect nerve pain can have.
“Obviously, it was a huge disappointment not to play. I hate to miss any major, especially the Masters, but the reality is I just couldn’t play.”
No hurry
The 41-year-old former world No. 1, whose epic shotmaking stretched the sport’s exposure for much of the past 20 years, has won 79 career PGA titles, three shy of Sam Snead’s all-time record, and remains second on the all-time major win list, four shy of the 18 won by Jack Nicklaus.
“As for returning to competitive golf, the long-term prognosis is positive,” Woods said. “My surgeon and physiotherapist say the operation was successful. It’s just a matter of not screwing up and letting it fuse. I’m walking and doing my exercises and taking my kids to and from school. All I can do is take it day by day. There’s no hurry.
“But I want to say unequivocally I want to play professional golf again.”
Woods ended a 15-month layoff for back surgery last December at his Hero World Challenge charity event in the Bahamas, but he missed the cut at Torrey Pines in a PGA event last January and withdrew from a European Tour event in Dubai in February, saying in April he needed the latest operation to ease back and leg pain.
“I could no longer live with the pain I had,” Woods said.
“We tried every possible non-surgical route and nothing worked. I had good days and bad days, but the pain was usually there, and I couldn’t do much. Even lying down hurt.”