Tiger Woods: A timeline of his injuries the last 3 decades

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A timeline of Tiger Woods' injuries after announcing Saturday he had a seventh surgery on his lower back:

December 1994 — As a freshman at Stanford, Woods has surgery to remove two benign tumors and scar tissue.

December 2002 — Woods has surgery to remove fluid inside and outside his ACL in his left knee, and to remove benign cysts. It is from this surgery that Woods said he learned the ACT was damaged.

July 2007 — Ruptures his ACL while running on a golf course after the British Open. He went on to win five of his last six tournaments, including the PGA Championship.

April 15, 2008 — Two days after a runner-up finish at the Masters, Woods has arthroscopic surgery to repair cartilage damage, but chose not to repair the ACL to give him a chance to play in the U.S. Open.

May 2008 — Woods is advised weeks before the U.S. Open that because of two stress fractures in his left tibia, he should expect to be on crutches for three weeks and be out of golf for an additional three weeks.

June 24, 2008 — Woods has reconstructive surgery on his left knee to repair the ACL.

2008-2009 — At the 2010 Masters, Woods revealed that he tore his right Achilles tendon in 2008, and reinjured the tendon several times in 2009, yet continued to play.

May 2010: Woods withdraws during the final round of The Players Championship, citing what he believes to be a potential bulging disk. “I’ve been playing with a bad neck for quite a while,” he tells reporters. The injury was later diagnosed as an inflamed facet joint in his neck. Woods does not miss a start, tying for 19th in his next appearance at the Memorial Tournament the following month.

April 2011: Woods announces that he will withdraw from the upcoming Wells Fargo Championship due to a “minor” injury to his left knee and Achilles’ tendon, one that he claimed to have suffered at the Masters earlier in the month.

May 2011: In his first start since his most recent injury announcement, Woods abruptly withdraws from The Players Championship after nine holes, exiting early from TPC Sawgrass for the second consecutive year. “The knee acted up and then the Achilles’ followed after that,” he tells reporters. The injury is later diagnosed as both a sprain of the MCL ligament in his left knee and a strain to the left Achilles’ tendon, and Woods ultimately misses three months of action, including both the U.S. Open and The Open.

March 2012: Woods withdraws with seven holes left in his final round at the WGC-Cadillac Championship, citing an injury to his left Achilles’ tendon. He wins two weeks later at Bay Hill in his next start.

June 2013: Woods announces he will miss the upcoming AT&T National due to a left elbow strain.

March 2014: Woods withdraws on the 13th green in the final round of the Honda Classic, citing lower back spasms.

April 2014: Woods announces that he will miss the Masters for the first time in his pro career. He also revealed that he recently underwent surgery for a pinched nerve in his back and that he hoped to return to the PGA Tour “sometime this summer.”

August 2014: Woods withdraws on the ninth hole of the final round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, citing lower back pain. The injury stemmed from an awkward lie on the second hole that sent Woods back into a fairway bunker after impact. He plays the PGA the following week.

February 2015: In his second start of the year, Woods walks off after completing 11 holes of his opening round at the Farmers Insurance Open, citing a back injury. Woods explained that the injury stemmed from enduring multiple fog delays before the start of his round, and that he was unable to keep his glutes “activated.” “My glutes are just shutting off,” he said. “Then they don’t activate and then, hence, it goes into my lower back.”

September 2015: After showing signs of improvement in his final start of the season at the Wyndham Championship, Woods on Sept. 18 announces that he has undergone a second microdiscectomy surgery two days prior to remove a disk fragment that was pinching his nerve.

October 2015: Woods announces on his website that he has undergone a “successful” procedure as a follow-up to his latest back surgery.

April 2016: Woods announces that he will miss the Masters for the second time in three years.

February 2017: Woods withdraws from the Omega Dubai Desert Classic before the start of his second round with back spasms.

April 2017: Woods announces on his website that he has undergone fusion surgery on his lower back.

May 2017: Woods is arrested in Jupiter, Florida, on suspicion of driving under the influence. Woods later says alcohol was not involved and he had “an unexpected reaction to prescribed medications.”

July 2017: Woods tweets that he “recently completed an out of state private intensive program,” as he continues to seek professional help following his arrest for DUI on May 29.

October 28, 2017: Woods pleads guilty to reckless driving and enters a diversion program. He was sentenced to a year of probation and ordered to pay a $250 fine and court costs.

March 4, 2019: After playing 2018 injury-free and competing in three events in 2019, Woods announces his withdrawal from the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Woods, an eight-time winner of the event, cites a neck strain.

August 27, 2019: Woods announces he has undergone arthroscopic surgery to repair minor ligament damage in his left knee.

January 19, 2021: Woods announces he has undergone a fifth microdiscectomy procedure on his back.

February 23, 2021: Woods is involved in a single-vehicle rollover accident outside of Los Angeles. According to a statement from his doctor, Woods sustained “significant” injuries to his right leg and ankle. Dr. Anish Mahajan, chief medical officer at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, said that Woods suffered comminuted open fractures to the upper and lower sections of his right leg, as well as significant trauma to his right ankle. Doctors needed to insert a rod, screws and pins to stabilize Woods’ leg, Mahajan said in a statement.

May 21, 2022: After successfully making the cut at the Masters, Woods also made the cut at the PGA Championship. But following a third-round 79, Woods informed the PGA of America he was withdrawing.

April 9, 2023: In his second start of the year, after tying for 45th in his own Genesis Invitational, Woods survived the cut at the Masters. But because of multiple weather suspensions, he would need to play 28 1/2 holes on Sunday to complete his third and final rounds. Woods, who played Saturday in miserable cold and rainy conditions, announces his withdrawal early Sunday on Twitter, stating, “I am disappointed to have to WD this morning due to reaggravating my plantar fasciitis.”

April 19, 2023: Woods announces via his Twitter account that he had a subtalar fusion procedure in his right ankle to “address his post-traumatic arthritis from his previous talus fracture.”

Sept. 13, 2024: Woods announces he had surgery on his lower back, which he described as a microdecompression surgery of the lumbar spine for nerve impingement in the lower back. He said he hoped it would alleviate back spasms he experienced through most of the season.

March 11, 2025: Woods has surgery after rupturing his left Achilles tendon while increasing his workouts to get ready for the Masters. The surgery was described as “minimally invasive.”

Oct. 11, 2025: Woods has surgery on his lower back to replace a disk. He says he had been dealing with pain and lack of mobility, and scans reveals a collapsed disk in his L4/5, disk fragments and a compromised spinal canal.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf