There were moments at Augusta National two weeks ago when the thought crossed some minds whether Tiger Woods might be playing his final Masters.
Seeing the 47-year-old, 15-time major champion laboring up and down the hills at Augusta National where a significant part of his massive legend has been built was a reminder of the new life Woods faces two-plus years after a near-fatal auto accident.
Woods himself raised the question during his pre-tournament question-and-answer session with the media.
“I don’t know how many more I have in me,” he said, before making the 36-hole cut for the second straight post-accident year and later withdrawing when faced with playing 30 holes on Sunday.
The hope that Woods would tee it up at the PGA Championship at Oak Hill next month and at the U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club in June is gone. The same seems true of the Open Championship at Royal Liverpool in July, a spot where he won the Claret Jug in 2006.
The news Thursday that Woods has undergone another surgery – this one a subtalar fusion in his damaged right ankle – brought the question of Woods’ competitive future to the forefront again.
The hope that Woods would tee it up at the PGA Championship at Oak Hill next month and at the U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club in June is gone. The same seems true of the Open Championship at Royal Liverpool in July, a spot where he won the Claret Jug in 2006.
The question of when – or if – Woods will play his next major championship remains open ended. In a statement released Thursday, the surgery was labeled a success.
Recovery time for a subtalar fusion, which essentially binds bones together to reduce pain from arthritis, is generally considered to be eight to 12 weeks before full weight-bearing activities can resume.
Before the question of when Woods can play golf again and what level comes into focus, his manager Mark Steinberg told the Associated Press that Woods’ quality of life was central to his decision to undergo the procedure.
“The first goal is to recover and lead a much more enjoyable day-to-day life,” Steinberg said.
There is no timetable for Woods’ return to golf, Steinberg said.
The surgery was performed in New York City by Dr. Martin O’Malley at HSS Sports Medicine Institute, and Woods is now home in Jupiter, Florida.
Woods’ career story is speckled by surgeries and his subsequent comebacks from those operations. After multiple back surgeries, Woods underwent a spinal fusion procedure in 2017 that was thought to be potentially career-threatening. Instead, Woods won three more events including the 2019 Masters, having learned to swing around the fused discs.
Among Woods’ many skills has been an ability to work through pain, endure multiple surgeries and return to golf. This will be another monumental challenge for him.
The ankle surgery is a result of his February 2021 single-vehicle rollover crash that did severe damage to his right leg. Woods has undergone multiple procedures on his leg and ankle, but continued pain led to the surgery, which is designed to reduce pain while sacrificing mobility in the joint.
Woods’ discomfort was evident at Augusta National, where he walked with a noticeable limp and was seen wincing from time to time. He cited continued issues with plantar fasciitis as the reason for his Sunday withdrawal, similar to his withdrawal before the Hero World Challenge, which he hosted in December.
The golf challenge for Woods going forward will be building a swing around a right ankle that will not allow him to turn his foot in or out. Getting in and out of bunkers also will be more difficult for him as a result of the fusion.
Among Woods’ many skills has been an ability to work through pain, endure multiple surgeries and return to golf. This will be another monumental challenge for him.
Before the Masters, Woods said, “I’ve certainly had my share of adversity physically and had multiple surgeries, and I’ve had to come back and work through that. You know, those were tough. They were never easy. But it’s just the overall desire to win has always been there, and I’ve always worked at it and believed in what I could do.”
As Woods and others close to him have said, hitting shots has not been the challenge for him despite the injuries. The bigger issue has been Woods’ ability to walk golf courses.
“You watch him on the range and you watch him hit chips and putts, and he’s got all the aspects of the game that you need to succeed around this place. It’s just the toll it takes on his body to compete over 72 holes,” Rory McIlroy said before the Masters.
Woods has said many times that he understands the challenges and restrictions created by the damage done to his right leg and he is grateful he still has his leg.
He has ruled out asking for a cart in PGA Tour events, but Woods has made it clear that he intends to play on PGA Tour Champions, where players are allowed to use carts, after he turns 50 in December.
“I can hit a lot of shots, but the difficulty for me is going to be the walking going forward. It is what it is. I wish it could be easier,” Woods said at Augusta.
“I’ve got three more years, where I get the little buggy and be out there with Fred (Couples), but until then, no buggy.”