Tiger Woods out indefinitely after undergoing ankle surgery
Tiger Woods was forced to withdraw from the 2023 Masters Tournament during the third round of play a couple of weeks ago. There were videos going around on social media of the 47-year-old really struggling to walk around and support his own weight. Then, on Wednesday, April 19th, an announcement was made from Tiger’s Twitter account that the legend underwent surgery to address pain from his previous talus fracture.
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) April 19, 2023
The subtalar fusion procedure is a significant one for Tiger. Numerous medical journals say that it’ll likely be 6-12 weeks before he’s able to put any weight on his ankle. Tiger will also need to spend some time in a boot — or potentially a cast — and then physical therapy will follow. The timing of this is very important as it relates to the 2023 season. The PGA Championship begins on May 18, the US Open starts on June 15th and the Open Championship is scheduled for July 20th. With that in mind, it’s highly unlikely that we’ll see Tiger in another major this season, although he still has odds to win those tournaments on most sportsbooks.
Perhaps we’ll end up seeing Tiger towards the end of 2023 — maybe even at the Hero World Challenge, which he hosts— but this is definitely a blow to the sport. Everybody tuned in to watch Tiger work his tail off to make the cut at Augusta, and it’s wild to think that he was able to do so while dealing with this much pain. However, Tiger is one of the greatest competitors in the history of sports, so maybe we shouldn’t be that surprised.
Hopefully Tiger will find a way to come back and compete at a high level again, but that’s easier said than done. His body has been through so much trauma over the years, and he’s not getting any younger. But golf isn’t the same without Tiger, who currently has 15 major championships in his career. The 47-year-old is widely viewed as the greatest golfer in the history of the sport, but it must eat at him that he sits behind Jack Nicklaus, who won 18 majors throughout his illustrious career. With that said, you can’t rule out anything with him. Tiger is going to work endlessly to try and get back to a place where he can compete, if his body can handle it.