Tiger Woods is done for 2015 after having surprise surgery on his injured back

NOW we know why he has struggled so much. Tiger Woods is finished for 2015. He’s just gone under the knife again and he didn’t see it coming.

SCOTTSDALE, AZ - JANUARY 30: Tiger Woods waits on the ninth green after marking his golf ball during the second round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale on January 30, 2015 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)

TIGER Woods has revealed he is finished for 2015 after undergoing unscheduled surgery on his back.

Woods said the surgery he had on Thursday in Utah was a success and he expects to make a full recovery to play in 2016.

In an article posted on his personal website, the 14-time major champion revealed the microdiscectomy was similar to the procedure he underwent on March 31, 2014.

“This is certainly disappointing, but I’m a fighter,” Woods said.

“I’ve been told I can make a full recovery, and I have no doubt that I will.”

In the meantime, Woods said he would have to withdraw from the USPGA Tour’s Frys.com Open in October, as well as the two-man America’s Golf Cup in Mexico City and his own unofficial Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas in December.

“I’d like to send my regrets to Frys and all those associated with the America’s Golf Cup,” Woods said.

“Those were two events I was really looking forward to playing.

“I was ready to start the 2015-16 PGA TOUR season at Frys, and I was excited to join my good friend Matt (Kuchar) in Mexico City.”

While Woods is confident he will be back to his best at the end of his recovery, fans are less certain the American will ever recapture the form that made him the greatest golfer of his generation.

Tiger has another back surgery. Three to six months to recover. May never be the same http://t.co/8XVKmlvw7S

— Dr. Selene Parekh (@seleneparekhmd) September 19, 2015

Tiger Woods has surgery on his back again. When he attempts comeback he will be 40… Can’t see him challenging Day, Spieth Rory and Co again

— Benjamin Everill (@beneverill) September 18, 2015

ESPN senior golf writer Bob Harig said people will question if Woods can ever be the force he once was.

“By the time Woods tees it up for real again sometime in 2016, he will be 40 years old, some 2.5 years removed from his last victory, having gone through another rehabilitation process,” he told ESPN.

“And then there is the issue of a golf swing that was still a work in progress without this setback.

“Woods already faced plenty of doubts about whether he will get his game back — doubts that now grow deeper and darker.”

Fair to say it wasn’t Tiger Woods’ year.

Woods said he would attend the Hero World Challenge that benefits his charitable foundation, but won’t be able to play.

“I look forward to being there to support my event,” he said.

The former No. 1 ranked golfer struggled through a miserable 2015 campaign that included missed cuts at three straight major championships — the US Open, British Open and PGA Championship.

He posted his worst rounds as a pro — an 82 at the Phoenix Open and an 85 at the Memorial, even taking a break from competition early in the year to try to sort out his game and get going again in his pursuit of Jack Nicklaus’s record of 18 major titles.

Things were looking up last month when Woods was in contention for his first US PGA Tour win since 2013 at the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina, where he eventually finished tied for 10th and missed the US tour’s season-ending playoff series.

According to his website, Woods had experienced occasional discomfort in his back and hip area for several weeks, including at the Wyndham and an examination showed that the “random discomfort” was coming from his back.

“With the upcoming off-season, the decision was made to remove a small disc fragment that was pinching his nerve,” said neurosurgeon Charles Rich, who also performed Woods’ 2014 surgery.

“The microsurgery was a complete success, and he was discharged Thursday night,” Rich said.

According to the website, Woods was to begin intensive rehabilitation and soft tissue treatment within a week.

“Healing and recovery times differ for each individual based on many physiological factors, but Tiger is encouraged he can return early in 2016,” the posting said.

“I appreciate the fans’ concern and support,” Woods said. “This is unfortunate but these things happen. I’ve been injured before and played again. It won’t be any different this time.”

— with AFP

Originally published as Tiger Woods is done for 2015 after having surprise surgery on his injured back