Medical Expert Warns Tiger Woods Could Have Hit Career-Ending Limit After Seventh Back Surgery

Tiger Woods has been here before– six times, no less. Torn ligaments, shattered bones, and a spine rebuilt piece by piece, he’s endured it all. And now, yet again at nearly 50, he underwent a lumbar disc replacement at the L4/5 level. But as much as Woods insists it was the right to go under the knife for the seventh time, specialists had already been questioning if a surgery even was the right call earlier. 

“I honestly can’t see a way out for him,” said Gavin Routledge, a respected osteopath based in Scotland with over 30 years of experience dealing with spinal issues. “We have known for decades that once you have one disc surgery, then the chances of having another are substantially higher, especially if you use the fusion technique like Tiger. It’s a domino effect,” Routledge continued to tell Golfweek.

When Woods confirmed the news, he explained that scans had shown a collapsed disc at the L4/5 level, along with fragments and a compromised spinal canal—an issue that had been limiting both his movement and comfort for months. The surgery, a lumbar disc replacement, involved removing the damaged disc and inserting an artificial one between the vertebrae to restore motion and relieve pressure on the nerves. It was his seventh back surgery since 2014 and the second in just over a year, performed by Dr. Sheeraz Qureshi at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. While the procedure was completed without complications, the reality of recovery now looms large— even though he’s rebounded from six of these and how already: 

• 2014: Underwent a microdiscectomy to address a pinched nerve in his lower back (L4/5 region).
• 2015 (Sept & Oct): Two further surgeries in quick succession: microdiscectomies to remove disc fragments compressing nerves, followed by an additional back procedure in October.
• April 2017 : He opted for a spinal fusion (anterior lumbar interbody fusion at L5/S1) to stabilize his lower spine after chronic pain and degeneration.
• December 2020: Underwent another microdiscectomy to remove a “pressurised disc fragment” impinging on a nerve.
• September 2024: A micro-decompression surgery (lumbar spine) was carried out for nerve impingement, his sixth back surgery.

Even compared with these prior procedures, Woods’ seventh surgery is far more invasive. A lumbar disc replacement involves extensive work on his L4/5 vertebrae, and recovery could stretch anywhere from 6 to 12 months. At 49, with decades of accumulated strain and past injuries, his spine may heal more slowly than most, and returning to play without proper rehabilitation could risk another nerve compression or disc collapse. Understandably, back then, Woods offered no official recovery timeline. 

With no estimate of how long it may take, the growing anticipation of Tiger Woods’ return to playing competitively now hangs in limbo. It means Woods may miss out on multiple events lined up for him in the coming few months.

Tiger Woods’s next appearances now remain doubtful

As Tiger Woods approaches his 50th birthday in December, many believed that the next chapter would have been a debut on the PGA Tour Champions, golf’s senior circuit. Ernie Els even publicly challenged Woods to come join the tour, “Beat us again… if you can.” Els added that having Woods join the over-50 tour would be good for him and the game, encouraging his old rival to come out and compete with his peers.

But for now, Tiger Woods’s immediate playing schedule looks uncertain. The last time fans saw Woods was more than 15 months ago. He was expected to tee it up at the 2025 Hero World Golf Challenge in the Bahamas this December, a tournament he hosts, but following his latest surgery, that seems highly unlikely. It’s déjà vu, as Woods also had to withdraw from the same event last year while recovering from a previous back surgery.

Then there’s also the second season of TGL, his high-tech team golf league, set to begin later that month, where he’s set to lead Jupiter Links GC. Whether he’ll be physically ready to participate remains uncertain. While he may not be physically fit to participate in any of the events scheduled for him, Woods will now have ample time to focus on the Future Competition Committee, which he was recently appointed head of by CEO Brian Rolapp.

It’s a role that ensures his influence on the game continues, even if his presence on the leaderboard fades. One way or another, Tiger Woods is still shaping the future of golf, but just not in the way fans had always imagined.