Woods likely out 6 months after surgery

Fourth operation on back means no majors this year.

One day after saying his back was progressing, Tiger Woods had a fourth back surgery to alleviate pain and will go through another year without playing a major.

A day before the surgery Wednesday at the Texas Back Institute, Woods was in Missouri to announce plans to design a public golf course at Big Cedar Lodge, and he even tried hitting a few shots on a par 3. The first one rattled around in the rocks, and the second shot was about 10 feet from the flag.

Asked about his health during the ceremony, Woods said he had good days and bad days. Then he flew to Dallas for fusion surgery to create space in his lower back.

The announcement on his website Thursday said typical recovery from a single-level fusion surgery is six months.

“The surgery went well, and I’m optimistic this will relieve my back spasms and pain,” Woods said. “When healed, I look forward to getting back to a normal life, playing with my kids, competing in professional golf and living without the pain I have been battling so long.”

Woods, 41, first had back surgery — a microdiscectomy — a week before the 2014 Masters, and he tried to return in three months. He sat out three months at the end of 2014 to let his body fully heal.

But after a 2015 season in which he missed the cut in three majors, he had back surgery in September and another one in October.

He went 15 months without competition before returning in December at his Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, where Woods made 24 birdies in 72 holes and swung freely.

But then he missed the cut at Torrey Pines in January, and he withdrew from the Dubai Desert Classic on Feb. 3 after opening with a 77, citing back spasms.

“You see him in the Bahamas, and he looked pretty good,” said Mark Steinberg, his agent at Excel Sports Management. “And then you see him in Dubai. It can happen any time. … This surgery, we hope, eliminates the bad days.”

Q u e s t i o n s a b o u t t h e 14-time major champion have shifted from if he will win another major to if he will play another major.

The statement on his website said Woods’ bottom disc in his lower back has severely narrowed, causing sciatica and severe pain in his back and legs.

Steinberg said they were advised fusion surgery was the best option if Woods wanted an active lifest yle and was willing to sit out the rest of the season.

PGA Tour: South African Branden Grace shot a 6-under 66 for the first-round lead at the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio.

Stewart Cink was tied at 67 with Will MacKenzie, John Huh and New Zealander Steven Alker.

E u r o p e a n / A s i a n tour: Bubba Watson fired a 6-under 66 to take a onestroke lead at the Shenzhen (China) International. South Africans Dean Burmester and Haydn Porteous were tied for second with Gregory Bourdy of France and German Maximilian Kieffer.