Is Tiger’s world of hurt finally over?
Tiger Woods told Australian Golf Digest’s Jaime Diaz in 2005 that he has had a bad left knee since childhood. “It’s because of the stuff I did as a kid,” Woods said. “Wiping out on skateboards, crashing on dirt bikes, jumping off things. I banged it up pretty bad.” After Woods’ surgery to repair his ACL and cartilage after his 14th professional Major title, the 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines, we surveyed 21 US PGA Tour players to predict his future: 81 per cent said, “Eventually he’ll be the same old Tiger”; 14 per cent said he would be “better than ever”; 5 per cent said, “His best is probably behind him.” Woods’ key injuries are detailed here.
December 1994
Has surgery to remove scar tissue and two benign tumours from his left knee.
June 1995
Withdraws from the US Open at Shinnecock Hills after injuring his left wrist playing a shot out of the rough.
December 2002
Has surgery to drain fluid around his left ACL and to remove benign cysts.
October 06
Expresses doubts about whether he would be able to play because of an injured left shoulder blade
but wins the WGC-American Express Championship.
Summer 2007
Says he ruptured the ACL in his left knee while running on a golf course but wins five of his last six events of the year, including the PGA Championship.
April 2008
After a runner-up finish in the Masters, has surgery to repair cartilage in his left knee.
June 2008
Wins the US Open with two stress fractures in his left tibia and ligament damage in his left knee. Has surgery after the US Open to repair the ACL and cartilage in his left knee.
2008-2009
At the 2010 Masters, reveals that he played through a torn right Achilles tendon in 2008 that was re-injured in 2009.
November 2009
Hospitalised overnight with a sore neck and a cut lip that required five stitches after driving his SUV over a
fire hydrant and into a tree.
May 2010
WDs from the Players Championship, citing neck pain that was later termed an inflamed facet joint.
December 2010
Gets cortisone shot in his right ankle for lingering soreness in his Achilles.
April 2011
Reveals a sprain of his left MCL and strained left Achilles after a shot from under the Eisenhower Tree at the Masters.
May 2011
WDs from the Players Championship, citing his Achilles, the lingering knee injury and pain in his left calf.
June 2011
Misses the US Open, citing his left knee and Achilles.
February 2012
WDs at Doral, citing pain in his left Achilles.
June 2013
Announces he will miss the AT&T National, citing left-elbow pain suffered at the Players and aggravated at the US Open.
August 2013
Drops to the ground at The Barclays, citing back pain he attributes to sleeping on a too-soft hotel bed.
March 2014
WDs from the Honda Classic, citing lower-back spasms.
April 2014
Announces that a microdiscectomy procedure for a pinched nerve in his back will force him to miss the Masters.
August 2014
WDs at Firestone, citing back spasms after a shot from an awkward lie.
February 2015
WDs at Torrey Pines, citing back pain and fog delays that kept him from getting his “glutes” activated.
September 2015
Undergoes a second micro-discectomy procedure to remove a small disc fragment that was pinching a nerve.
October 2015
Announces he has undergone a follow-up procedure to relieve back discomfort.
December 2015
Says there is no timetable for a return, adding, “There’s nothing to look forward to.”
February 2016
Manager Mark Steinberg says speculation that Woods suffered a serious setback is “completely false”.
July 2016
Steinberg says Woods would continue to rehab and assess when he would start play in the 2016-’17 season.
