Tiger Woods will not play in next month’s U.S. Open as he’s still rehabbing from lumbar microdiscectomy surgery he underwent back on March 31. Woods made the announcement on his website earlier this week.
“Unfortunately, I won’t be [at the U.S. Open] because I’m not yet physically able to play competitive golf,” Woods said. “I’d like to convey my regrets to the USGA leadership, the volunteers and the fans that I won’t be at Pinehurst. The U.S. Open is very important to me, and I know it’s going to be a great week. Despite missing the first two majors, and several other important tournaments, I remain very optimistic about this year and my future.”
While the move may come as a surprise to some, I’m not that shocked. As I hypothesized earlier on the blog, it simply seemed like too short of a timetable for Woods to make a return to professional golf. While the rehab is fairly quick, a person usually needs three months to regain normal activity. The U.S. Open will begin roughly two and a half months after Woods underwent the back operation, and he doesn’t want to take any chances when it comes to his health. As I said back in April, a more realistic return date would be in July, perhaps ahead of The Open Championship in late July.
Woods wouldn’t speculate on when he’d return to the course.e
“There’s no date, there’s no timetable, just taking it day by day and just focusing on trying to get stronger and come back,” said Woods during a media day last week. “I want to play today, but that’s just not going to happen. So just taking it step by step.”
Woods underwent a lumbar microdiscectomy back in March, which is a minimally invasive surgery used to remove a small portion of an offending disc. Patients can walk just days after the operation, but swinging a golf club is a different story, especially when you consider the force and precision needed to preform at the highest level. Last time I wrote about Woods, I guessed he’d miss The U.S. Open, but I’m going out on a hunch and saying that he’ll be back in time for The Open Championship, a place where he’s won three times.
Related sources: TigerWoods.com, ESPN