Tiger Woods had one of his worst seasons on the PGA Tour this year. He was cut from three out of the four major tournaments and had only one top-10 finish, which came in late August.
Then on Friday it was announced the former No. 1 golfer in the world underwent a second back surgery and would be out of action until early 2016. It was the same procedure he had in March of 2014.
"Tiger Woods underwent a microdiscectomy late on Sept. 16 at Park City Medical Center," neurosurgeon Dr. Charles Rich said on Woods' website. "With the upcoming offseason, the decision was made to remove a small disc fragment that was pinching his nerve. The microsurgery was a complete success, and he was discharged Thursday night."
"This is certainly disappointing, but I'm a fighter," Woods added. "I've been told I can make a full recovery, and I have no doubt that I will."
The announcement mentioned Woods would begin "intensive rehabilitation and soft tissue treatment within a week."
Woods also noted he plans to attend his Hero World Challenge in December, but he won't be able to participate. That was his first event of the 2014-2015 PGA season after he took a hiatus from golf when he was playing poorly and dealing with back issues.
The 39-year-old was expected to participate in the Frys.com Open in October after formally committing last week, but his agent, Mark Steinberg, told Bob Harig and Jason Sobel of ESPN that a routine follow-up exam with his doctor revealed the issue with his back. The procedure came as a surprise.
"They saw something that was easily fixable at a time of year when he can get away, even though he has to skip some tournaments that he really wanted to play," Steinberg added in another piece penned by Harig. "If you have a window to clean it up and the doctor says this is the right time to do it, you do it."
The last time Woods underwent this procedure on March 31, 2014, he didn't return until the Quicken Loans National, which was in late June.
