Tiger Woods has ankle surgery in New York to help with arthritis, 10 days after withdrawing from The Masters after reaggravating his plantar fasciitis
- Tiger Woods hobbled out of the Masters last week after struggling at Augusta
- Now, the 47-year-old Woods has had a procedure on his ankle in New York
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
Tiger Woods has undergone successful surgery on his ankle to address arthritis, 10 days after he withdrew from The Masters after reaggravating plantar fasciitis.
The surgery was carried out by Dr. Martin O’Malley at HSS Sports Medicine Institute in New York on the 47-year-old.
No timeline was given for his return but a statement said: ‘Earlier today, Tiger underwent a subtalar fusion procedure to address his post-traumatic arthritis from his previous talus fracture.
‘Tiger is currently recovering and looks forward to beginning his rehabilitation.’
It will almost certainly rule him out of the PGA Championship in May – less than a month away, at Oak Hill, the next Major on golf’s calendar. Indeed, news of the operation will place further scrutiny on whether he will return to golf at all.
Tiger Woods has had ankle surgery, days after withdrawing from The Masters injured
Woods was limping badly at Augusta and withdrew when faced with playing 29 holes in a day
Speaking at Augusta before competing in this year’s Masters, Woods suggested it could be his last tournament there as a competitor.
‘I don’t know how many more I have in me,’ he said, pre-tournament. ‘I’m very lucky to have the leg.
‘Mobility and endurance – going forward it will never be the same. I can’t prepare and play as many tournaments as I’d like but that’s ok and I’m ok with it.’
Wet weather caused delays and backlogs to proceedings at Augusta, meaning Woods faced playing 29 holes on the fourth day at The Masters.
The 15-time major winner scraped through to the weekend after making the cut by a single shot, but was battered by the conditions at the start of his third round and he dropped to the bottom of the leaderboard at +9.
Cameras caught him heavily limping during the final moments of Saturday before play was suspended due to the weather conditions, and the next day Woods confirmed he will not return to the course.
Woods was injured in 2021 when his car careened off a suburban Los Angeles road at over 85 mph, crushing his right leg so badly that he said doctors considered amputation. Asked how much hardware held it together, Woods replied: ‘A lot.’
He was additionally forced to pull out of the Hero World Challenge in December, citing Plantar Fasciitis but did tee it up alongside son, Charlie, at the PNC Championship later that month, where he was permitted to use a golf cart.
Woods said before the tournament at Augusta that he could be playing his final Masters
News of the surgery will almost certainly rule Woods out of the PGA Championship next month
Following the event at Riviera, Woods reiterated his intent to compete in all four majors this year, if his body allows, but will limit other appearances.
‘I’m not going to play any more than probably the majors and a couple more … that’s it, that’s all my body will allow me to do,’ Woods said at Riviera.
‘My back the way it is, all the surgeries I had on my back, my leg the way it is. I just can’t. That’s just going to be my future.
‘So my intent last year was to play in all four majors, I got three of the four. Hopefully this year I can get all four and maybe sprinkle in a few here and there.
‘But that’s it for the rest of my career. I know that and I understand that. That’s just my reality.’
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