The Golf Blog says: Tiger Woods one-upped April Fool’s Day (see below for our post in honor of that day) by officially announcing he withdrew from this year’s Masters due to back surgery to fix a pinched nerve. This is no joke. Some doctors project that he can’t return to golf for 3 months or more.
Tiger announced on his website:
Tiger Woods announced Tuesday that he has undergone a successful microdiscectomy for a pinched nerve that has been hurting him for several months. The surgery was performed Monday in Park City, Utah, by neurosurgeon Dr. Charles Rich.The procedure was successful, but Woods will be unable to play in the Masters Tournament, instead requiring rest and rehabilitation for the next several weeks.
“After attempting to get ready for the Masters, and failing to make the necessary progress, I decided, in consultation with my doctors, to have this procedure done,” Woods said.
“I’d like to express my disappointment to the Augusta National membership, staff, volunteers and patrons that I will not be at the Masters,” Tiger added. “It’s a week that’s very special to me. It also looks like I’ll be forced to miss several upcoming tournaments to focus on my rehabilitation and getting healthy.
“I’d also like to thank the fans for their support and concern. It’s very kind and greatly appreciated. This is frustrating, but it’s something my doctors advised me to do for my immediate and long-term health.”
“It’s tough right now, but I’m absolutely optimistic about the future,” Woods said. “There are a couple [of] records by two outstanding individuals and players that I hope one day to break. As I’ve said many times, Sam and Jack reached their milestones over an entire career. I plan to have a lot of years left in mine.”
Tiger Woods focused on the future after withdrawing from the Masters — golf http://t.co/83TTtQiTK2
— ESPN Golf (@ESPNGolf) April 1, 2014
In Honor of April Fool’s [This was our post at the start of the day before Tiger announced.]
Tiger Woods' agent Mark Steinberg says #Masters decision coming 'very, very shortly': http://t.co/y26ytSBQL5
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) March 31, 2014
April 1, 2014, Bushwood C.C. The wait is over. And the news is not good. Both Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson have pulled out of the Masters due to a nagging back injury for Woods and an oblique injury for Phil. A double whammy. This will no doubt hurt CBS’s TV ratings.
“I had a couple weeks off, was getting treatment and trying to get ready for Augusta…As I said, that’s very frustrating,” Tiger said. Even more shocking, Tiger agreed with Graeme McDowell’s recent comments. “GMac was right. I have lost that forcefield of invincibility. It’s not a big deal, though. I’ll get it back. Remember, I’m only 38 years old. That’s young in my book. Vijay Singh is 51 years old, to put things into perspective.”
GMac On Tiger: “He’s lost that sort of force field of invincibility around him": The Tiger Woods aura question… http://t.co/91tPIr614r
— Geoff Shackelford (@GeoffShac) March 26, 2014
Meanwhile, Phil admitted, “I’ve been carrying around some extra weight around my midsection. Bones told me I needed to get back in the gym, but I didn’t listen. Last week, it came back to haunt me. I’ve gotta listen to Bones.”
Phil Mickelson withdraws from Texas Open http://t.co/jA1HSMc73l
— ESPN Golf (@ESPNGolf) March 29, 2014
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