Remember Tiger Woods?
Well, you better, because he apparently feels better than he has in years.
Woods posted a hopeful health update to his website Wednesday, saying he hasn’t felt this good in years despite having his fourth back surgery since 2014. His latest was a fusion back surgery, and the pain he felt beforehand sounds excruciating.
“I could no longer live with the pain I had,” Woods wrote. “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. I had nerve pain with anything I did and was at the end of my rope. The process leading up to my decision to have surgery was exhaustive. I consulted with a specialist, and after weighing my options, that’s when I decided to go to Texas to have surgery.”
Woods was attempting a comeback after missing almost all of 2016, and he made his return at December’s Hero World Challenge. But the comeback didn’t last long, as the pain became too much to handle, causing him to withdraw in Dubai earlier this year. He wrote that he tried to return for the Masters, but the injury kept him sidelined.
So what does this latest back surgery mean for his future? Well, if you thought this would be the end of Woods on the PGA Tour, he sure seems to think otherwise.
“As for returning to competitive golf, the long-term prognosis is positive,” he wrote. “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.
“Presently, I’m not looking ahead. I can’t twist for another two and a half to three months. Right now, my sole focus is rehab and doing what the doctors tell me. I am concentrating on short-term goals.”
Thumbnail photo via Orlando Ramirez/USA TODAY Sports Images
