Tiger Woods admits one big regret about his career as he faces another surgery

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There is more uncertainty surrounding Tiger Woods after the 15-time major winner revealed that he had undergone back surgery over the weekend.

Tiger Woods appears likely to miss the entire 2025 season. While he did play in the opening TGL campaign, hopes that he would return for The Masters were dashed when he announced surgery on his Achilles at age 49.

While no official recovery timeline was provided, most expected him to be out for the rest of the year. Now there is another complication.

Woods has since had a procedure done on his back and again, there’s been no word on how long he’ll be away from golf. But it’s hard to see him returning to competition in the near future.

Tiger Woods opens up about a training decision he now regrets

It’s hard to overlook just how much physical toll Tiger Woods has endured over the years. His body simply hasn’t given him a break, especially in the last couple of decades.

If he can’t string together a consistent run of events, it’s difficult to see him being satisfied with where his game stands. He’s never been one to simply make up the numbers.

Speaking on Dan on Golf, Dan Rapaport shared his doubts about whether Woods will be able to play even a handful of tournaments again, and recounted something Tiger once said about his training routine as injuries began to pile up.

“There was no mention at all of a return to golf. And I think this is it. I really think this is it. So, since the accident, which was in February of 2021 – and remember before the accident, Tiger wasn’t exactly healthy, there was that whole period in 2015, 2016, 2017 when he was going through his back stuff,” Rapaport said.

“So just since the accident, he’s had I don’t even know how many surgeries… We’re talking rods and screws and titanium… There was a plantar fasciitis flare-up when he could barely walk at The Masters in 2023.”

“We get so lost in the minutiae of day-to-day because we want him back because him being at a golf tournament gives it energy that it just doesn’t have otherwise.”

“Let’s zoom out a little bit and look at what Tiger has done or more accurately what he hasn’t done since the accident.”

This isn’t new territory for fans who’ve followed Woods closely over the past several years. But hearing someone like Rapaport say it aloud hits differently.

Tiger Woods’ 2024 season highlighted an important missing piece

Most players would have probably retired some time ago had they been put through the punishment that Woods has dealt with. The fact that he played all four majors in 2024 tells you a lot about his mental strength.

Of course, his greatest major triumph arguably came in 2008 when Woods won the US Open essentially on one leg.

Woods failed to break 70 in any of the 11 rounds he played last year. He did however, manage to make the cut at The Masters.

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It was suggested that Woods needed to play more in 2025 if he was going to become more competitive. And following his appearance at The Open Championship – where he was far from being the only big name to miss the cut – there was reason for cautious optimism.

Unfortunately, Woods now appears to be in a cycle where he needs to play more to allow his body to adapt again, but he simply cannot rely on his body just to give him the opportunity.