Tiger Woods barely played this year. Last year, too! This season, apart from the four majors, he only played the Genesis Invitational in February. Sadly, it ended in WD. Reason? Influenza. Other than Masters, his play was cut shorter in the other three majors, not being able to make it to the weekend. It’s not like Woods does not want to play, he is still very much determined, but it’s the injuries and surgeries that have plagued his play. Last appearing at Royal Troon in July, there were speculations of him returning to Albany for Hero World Challenge since it has been his stage of return in the past as well. Those expectations have fallen now! 

On November 25, he announced that he would not be playing at the event he proudly hosts because his recovery process from back surgery is still ongoing. Woods had his sixth back surgery in the past 10 years. He said he was hopeful the surgery would help with the pain and spasms he experienced throughout most of 2024. Has it? It remains to be seen.

Well, with that being said, here is the rundown of the 15x major champion’s back surgeries that he has had over the years since 2014.

1. 2014

Tiger Woods had to withdraw from the 2014 Honda Classic, citing back pain and spasms for the first time. It continued till the Cadillac Championship the next week. The continued pain forced him to have his first back surgery on a pinched nerve, resulting in his first-ever withdrawal from the Masters since 1994. He also had to withdraw from the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He returned in July, only to be in pain again. 

2. 2015

After his withdrawal from the Farmers Insurance Open, Tiger Woods returned for the Masters after two months. As fate would have it, he struck a tree roof on a swing. This ended up injuring his right arm. “A bone kind of popped out and the joint kind of went out of place, but I put it back in,” Woods said. Five months later, he had to go through a second microdiscectomy surgery on his back to get rid of the fragments that were pinching a nerve.

A month later, the 15X Major Champion had to endure another back surgery to get comfort from the pain he had been having through the past few months. 2015 was the year he missed the cut in three of the four majors.

3. 2017

2017 was the year Woods returned, hopeful of regaining his dominance. Only to not succeed. The 82x Tour winner withdrew from the second round of the Dubai Desert Classic citing back spasms. His agent at the time, Mark Steinberg, said the problem was unrelated to Woods’s nerve issues, and the golfer would not play another tournament that season. Tiger Woods had his fourth back surgery almost after two years in April. It was a Spinal Fusion that was to help him relieve the severe pain he had been going through all these years. 

After the surgery, he released a statement, “The surgery went well, and I’m optimistic this will relieve my back spasms and pain. 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. I would like to thank all the fans for staying in touch and their kind wishes. The support I have received has never waned, and it really helps.”

4. 2021

In January 2021, Woods underwent another microdiscectomy to help with a bulging disc. He didn’t compete professionally that year following a severe car accident in February. And well, ever since the life-altering accident, he has not been able to play full-time on the PGA Tour, and this was due to all the injuries that he had endured from it.

5. 2024

Tiger Woods underwent his sixth back surgery in September 2024 to address a nerve impingement causing back spasms throughout the season. The procedure, microdecompression surgery on his lumbar spine, aimed to alleviate chronic pain and improve his mobility. The surgery was performed by Dr. Sheeraz Qureshi at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Florida and was deemed successful.

Apart from his comeback at the 2024 Hero World Challenge, he was also speculated to return for the PNC Championship with his son Charlie Woods. However, the family affair will be hosted only two weeks away from the event that he withdrew, which makes his chances of appearing in it slimmer or even better, depending on his speed of recovery. Do you think he will come back this year? Let us know in the comments section below!