It’s been a month without any Tiger Woods news, which may be a record. Time for an update! On Wednesday, the 14-time major winner provided a statement on his website regarding his recovery from the fusion surgery he underwent on his ailing back in April. As a reminder, this was 41-year-old’s fourth procedure on his back, however, according to his agent Mark Steinberg, this one was “dramatically different” from his previous three.
Judging by Woods’ reaction in the statement, not only does it appear to be successful, but he even goes so far to say that he hasn’t felt this good in years:
It has been just over a month since I underwent fusion surgery on my back, and it is hard to express how much better I feel. It was instant nerve relief. I haven’t felt this good in years.
I could no longer live with the pain I had. 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.
Updates on Tiger Jam and my recovery. https://t.co/BFtv1y5v1J
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) May 24, 2017
I did everything I could to play at Augusta and was ready to go. Unfortunately, it was kind of like the 2008 U.S. Open. The pain was post-impact when I swung the club. I figured, ‘Can I handle it?’ This time the answer was, ‘probably not.’ That shows the effect nerve pain can have.
As for returning to competitive golf, the long-term prognosis is positive. 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.
You can read the entire blog post on his website. Like Tiger, we are cautiously optimistic about his return as well.
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