Tiger Woods revealed on Tuesday he had undergone surgery to repair a ruptured left Achilles tendon, derailing the veteran golf superstar's comeback plans in the latest injury setback to rock the twilight of his glittering career.
"As I began to ramp up my own training and practice at home, I felt a sharp pain in my left Achilles, which was deemed to be ruptured," Woods said in a post on X.
"This morning, Dr. Charlton Stucken of Hospital for Special Surgery in West Palm Beach, Florida performed a minimally-invasive Achilles tendon repair for a ruptured tendon."
Woods added a comment from Stucken, who said the surgery "went smoothly and we expect a full recovery".
Woods concluded: "I am back home now and plan to focus on my recovery and rehab, thank you for all the support."
As I began to ramp up my own training and practice at home, I felt a sharp pain in my left Achilles, which was deemed to be ruptured.
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) March 11, 2025
This morning, Dr. Charlton Stucken of Hospital for Special Surgery in West Palm Beach, Florida performed a minimally-invasive Achilles tendon… pic.twitter.com/KAVZfcRxlE
Woods gave no timetable for his possible return from his latest debilitating injury.
However the recovery time from an Achilles rupture can often last several months, which would almost certainly rule Woods out from playing in any of this season's majors if his latest injury follows the same timeframe.
The 15-time major champion hasn't teed it up in a tournament since the Open Championship last July.
After another back surgery in September he did play alongside 15-year-old son Charlie in the PNC Championship family event in Florida in December.
'FIRE STILL BURNS'
He has also played in the TGL indoor simulator league he launched with Northern Ireland star Rory McIlroy this year.
But the 49-year-old, still hampered by serious leg injuries he suffered in a 2021 car crash, hasn't played a regular PGA Tour event since the Genesis Invitational in 2024 – when he withdrew early because of illness.
Woods had committed to play in this year's Genesis Invitational but withdrew because he was "just not ready" days after the death of his mother, Kultida.
Woods's latest injury setback comes less than a month before the first major of the year, the Masters at Augusta National.
He finished 60th at the Masters last year and missed the cut in the year's other three majors.
Despite the litany of injury problems that have dogged him in recent years, Woods has repeatedly spoken of his desire to continue playing golf at the highest level, albeit with a scaled back tournament schedule.
"I'll play as long as I can play and I feel like I can still win the event," he said ahead of last year's British Open at Royal Troon.
Speaking in December following his back surgery in September, Woods maintained that the "fire still burns to compete."
"The difference is the recovery of the body to do it is not what it used to be," he admitted. "That's part of age and part of an athlete's journey."
However, he acknowledged that he was uncertain about how much he would be able to play in 2025.
"Whether my commitment going forward is once a month, yeah, I could say that all over again, but I truly don't know," he said.
"I'm just trying to rehab and still get stronger and better and feel better, really give myself the best chance I can going into next year."
TIGER'S CAREER TIMELINE
– August 1996: Turns pro after an outstanding amateur career and is named the PGA Rookie of the Year.
– April 1997: Wins his first major title at the Masters, becoming at 21 the youngest-ever winner at Augusta National. Two months later, he takes the world No 1 spot for the first time.
– June 2000: Wins US Open at Pebble Beach by a record 15 strokes and then becomes the fifth player in history to complete the career Grand Slam by winning the British Open by eight strokes at St Andrews.
– April 2001: Wins his second Masters title and completes the "Tiger Slam" as the first golfer to be reigning champion of all four majors simultaneously.
– April 2002: Successfully defends his Masters crown and in June he goes on to win his second US Open at Bethpage Black. That makes him the youngest golfer in history to win seven majors.
– September 2004: After failing to win another major in 2003 and 2004, Vijay Singh replaces him as world No 1 after a record run of 264 weeks on top.
– April 2005: Woods emerges from "slump" to win a fourth Masters, defeating Chris DiMarco in a playoff. He then wins a second British Open by five strokes at St. Andrews. With his 10th major title he joins Jack Nicklaus in being the only players to win all four major tournaments at least twice.
– May, 2006: His father and guiding force Earl Woods dies at 74, but the following month, Woods wins his third British Open at Hoylake for his 11th career major.
– June 2008: Two months after knee surgery, wins the US Open for his 14th major title, defeating Rocco Mediate in a playoff at Torrey Pines. He promptly announces that he needs more knee surgery and takes the rest of the season off.
– February 2009: Nine months later he returns to action, but in November of that year a car accident outside his Florida home unearths a series of infidelities that wrecks his marriage. Takes an "indefinite break from professional golf" to get his life back together.
– April 2010: Returns to action at the Masters, where he finishes fourth but injuries mount over the course of the year and his ranking starts to tumble.
– March 2013: Woods regains his form in 2012 and the following year, his eighth win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational sees him regain the world No 1 spot.
– March 2014: After a slow start to 2014, Woods injures himself during the Honda Classic and subsequently skips the Masters for the first time to undergo back surgery. Loses world No 1 spot to Adam Scott in May.
– February 2015: Struggles to get his season going and after pulling out injured from a tournament at Torrey Pines, says he will take another break from competition.
– September/October 2015: Woods has microdiscectomy to remove spinal disc fragment pinching a nerve, with follow-up procedure to relieve lingering discomfort.
– February 2017: Back spasms prompt Woods to withdraw from second round of Dubai Desert Classic, cutting short his return from a 16-month injury layoff.
– April 2017: After missing the Masters, Woods announces he had yet another surgery to alleviate pain in his back and leg.
– May 2017: Woods arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in Jupiter, Florida.
- January 2018: Woods makes his return to the PGA Tour with a shared 23rd place finish at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torry Pines, California.
- April 2018: Woods finishes tied for 32nd at the Masters, the first major appearance of his comeback.
- June 2018: Woods suffers a setback after missing the cut at the US Open at Shinnecock Hills, posting a 78 followed by a 72.
- July 2018: Woods bounces back from his US Open disappointment, sharing sixth at the British Open.
- August 2018: Woods announces his return to major contention with a second place finish at the PGA Championship, just two back from winner Brooks Koepka.
- September 2018: Woods is named in the US Ryder Cup team. He follows with a victory at the Tour Championship in Atlanta.
- April, 2019: Woods wins the 83rd Masters, his fifth triumph at Augusta National coming 14 years after his fourth to end an 11-year major championship drought.
– October 2019: Wins inaugural Zozo Championship in Japan on return from latest knee surgery to equal all-time record of 82 US PGA Tour wins set by legend Sam Snead 54 years ago.
– December 2019: Captained and played on the triumphant United States team that defeated the Internationals in the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne, winning all three of his matches.
– February 2021: Suffers severe lower right leg injuries in rollover car crash near Los Angeles. Woods spent three months in a hospital bed and months regaining his ability to walk.
– April 2022: Played his first tournament since the accident at the Masters, where he finished in 47th place.
– May 2022: Withdraws after third-round 79 in the PGA Championship after acknowledging his surgically repaired right leg had hurt him in every round. It's his first withdrawal from a major in his professional career.
– July 2022: Fails to make the cut at the British Open at St. Andrews after completing 36 holes at nine over.
– April 2023: Withdraws from the Masters after completing seven holes of his third round due to aggravated plantar fasciitis. Woods undergoes ankle surgery later in April to repair problems linked to his 2021 car crash.
– 2024: Woods plays all four rounds at the Masters, but endures a miserable record in the remaining three majors of the season, missing the cut at the PGA Championship, US Open and the British Open.
– February 2025: Woods abandons plans to return to tournament golf at the PGA Tour's Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines in the wake of the death of his mother, saying he is "just not ready".
– March 2025: Woods announces he has undergone surgery to repair his ruptured Achilles tendon.