For the last four years, golf analysts, experts, fans and aficionados have been asking the question, 'Is Tiger Woods back?' Now his back is the latest hinderance to his return to a major championship victory. After he withdrew from the Honda Invitational on Sunday, Mar. 2 with back spasms after 13 underwhelming holes on Sunday, his injury was met with skepticism.
For being one of the best golfers of all time, #TigerWoods is so mentally weak. Hopefully his "back" gets better in time for his next flub
— Keith Albertson (@CTVKeith) March 2, 2014
Maybe Woods' wasn't faking the back injury after all? On Monday, neurosurgeon Dr. Charles Rich performed a microdiscectomy surgery to relieve the pressure on his disk from a pinched nerve that has been plaguing him for a few months.
Elin is familiar with Tiger Woods getting reckless with the truth and fans acknowledge that he can be a little bit of a frontrunner, which is why the news of his back surgery preventing him from competing in The Masters for the first time in 20 years vindicates him from accusations of being a drama queen and sore loser. Unfortunately, he won't be a majors champion for a little while either.
Sad to say I’m missing the Masters. Thanks to the fans for so many kind wishes. http://t.co/Ofbre9VHEL
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) April 1, 2014
There have been concerns about Woods' violent swing before. The torque he places on his swing has put stress on his surgically repaired knees and various other joints. Woods will not only miss the Masters though. According to ESPN's Stephania Bell, this sort of injury usually results in a three to six month recovery period, but the median time is approximately four months. If that schedule stands he'd return just in time for the 96th PGA Championship.
However, approximately 90 percent of athletes who undergo this surgery usually return to form without any long-term damage. Arian Foster, Rob Gronkowski and Dwight Howard all underwent similar back surgeries.
Once a sure bet to break Jack Nicklaus' majors record, Woods has been stuck at 14 for six years, four back at Nicklaus, Woods is now a walking game of "Operation" as the most injured athlete in sports.
A few years ago, Grantland's Bill Simmons theorized that Woods' cheating scandal would result in a hiatus from dominance similar to Ali's more honorable Vietnam War draft resistance. Right decade, wrong athlete. Woods has survived the embarrassment of his divorce saga and time as tabloid cover mainstay. Sadly, he’s come down with physical ailments at a rate that would make Bill Walton wince.
Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and Rob Gronkowski are an All-Star triage sports unit, but not since Bill Walton's body began deteriorating in his 20's have we seen an athlete's career get so sidetracked by injury. Rose and Westbrook are young and weren't at the peak of their respective sports either way. Bryant's only suffered one major injury in his illustrious career and his presence wouldn't have affected the Lakers dismal season much and probably would have been a detriment to their (cough, tanking) rebuilding plans. Nash is just a purple and gold digger who's in it for the money.
Woods has been the marquee name in his sport for 20 years and still has another decade of major championship contention left in him. Or so we thought. It now appears, he may never accomplish his manifest destiny of surpassing Jack.
Well at least we know where Tiger Woods' next endorsement opportunity will come from. pic.twitter.com/N31ziGGfeY
— DJ RedHerring Dunson (@CerebralSportex) April 1, 2014
