Tiger Woods’ road back to competitive golf has hit another setback. As he continues to recover from a ruptured Achilles, news broke that the 15-time major champion had his seventh back surgery, a development that once again clouds his timeline for return.
To help unpack what this means for Woods's career, Sports Illustrated Senior Golf Writer Bob Harig joined the Dan’s Golf World Show to offer insight into the surgery, recovery expectations and Woods's long-term outlook.
Harig explained that this most recent procedure, a disc replacement, is unlike Tiger’s previous back operations, including his 2017 spinal fusion and multiple microdiscectomies.
“The best way to describe it is, a [microdiscectomy] is a Band-Aid to deal with a disc issue,” Harig said. “With the [disc replacement], you’ve addressed it, you’ve replaced it.”
While more invasive than his earlier procedures, Harig noted that this surgery isn’t as serious as the 2017 fusion that sidelined Woods for more than a year.
“My understanding is this is about a three-month recovery,” Harig said. “My guess is that by early January he’s cleared to start doing more activity.”
That’s encouraging news for golf fans, but Harig warns that expectations should remain realistic. Woods hasn’t played meaningful competitive golf in 18 months, and his path back to elite form is uncertain.
“Are you going to beat Scottie Scheffler without having hit chip shots, bunker shots, pitch shots or three to four-footers?” Harig asked. “He only played 11 rounds of golf last year. That’s where the Champions Tour could come in, 54 holes and golf carts.”
When could Tiger realistically return? Could the Masters be on the table? And would he play on the Champions Tour?
Bob Harig breaks it all down, the surgery, the recovery timeline, and the reality of a comeback on The Dan’s Golf World Show.
More Golf Coverage on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Why Tiger Woods's Latest Back Surgery Is Different.