Down but not out: Tiger has seventh back surgery

Tiger Woods has gone through a seventh back surgery, this time to replace a disk in his lower back that had caused pain and mobility issues.

Woods said in a social media post he had the operation in New York and it was the right decision for his his health and his troubled back.

He did not mention how long it would keep him out of golf, though it was unclear if he was going to try to play in his Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas or the PNC Championship with his son, Charlie. Both tournaments are in December.

He hasn’t played since a playoff loss in the PNC Championship last year.

It was his second surgery of the year — after rupturing his left achilles tendon in March — and second back surgery in the last 13 months.

Woods said he consulted doctors and surgeons have experiencing pain and lack of mobility in his back.

“The scans determined that I had a collapsed disc in L4/5, disc fragments and a compromised spinal canal,” Woods posted to X on Saturday.

“I opted to have my disc replaced yesterday, and I already know I made a good decision for my health and my back.”

Woods had the first of his seven back surgery in April 2014, which eventually led to having his lower back fused in 2017. A year later, he won the Tour Championship and then captured his 15th major and fifth green jacket at the 2019 Masters.

Now his back is only part of a body that has been broken over the last five years. Most serious was a car crash in February 2021 that shattered his right leg and ankle, which Woods has said nearly led to a decision to amputate.

He managed to return a year later at the 2022 Masters.

Since the car crash, Woods has played only 15 times in the last four years, four of those at the PNC Championship where he can use a cart for the 36-hole event.

Meanwhile, in other golf news, Jon Rahm will need a massive turnaround in his bid to win another Spanish Open as Englishman Marco Penge moved into pole position by reeling off eight birdies at the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid.

Rahm’s 71 on Saturday included a double bogey and has left him 12 shots back of Penge, tied for 28th as the Ryder Cup winner tries to surpass Seve Ballesteros as the tournament’s most successful golfer since the creation of the European Tour in 1972 with a fourth national title.

But Penge is on 16-under for the tournament after recording a seven-under 64 in round three.

The overnight leader started the day with a third-hole bogey but then went on a red-hot run, going under par on eight out of 10 holes to distance himself from the pack.

“Whatever the outcome is, it’s going to be a great experience, great memories for me,” Penge said.

“Tomorrow doesn’t define anything, it’s just another day, an 18-hole round of golf.”

Playing partner Joel Girbach of Switzerland is his nearest challenger, four shots back. Daniel Brown and former Masters winner Patrick Reed are five back, followed by Tom McKibben, who is six behind.

The 27-year-old Penge even had to put together his spectacular round after breaking his wedge when he got stuck behind a tree on the second hole.

“I knew it was going to break,” he said. “I kind of picked a club I didn’t think I was going to need the rest of the way, just made sure not to hit my hand on the tree.”

Penge had begun the day with a one-shot lead and will now bid for his third tour win, after also prevailing this year at the Danish Golf Championship and the Hainan Classic.

The leading Australian remained David Micheluzzi, whose 74 left him one over for the championships in joint-48th place, while Jason Scrivener’s 75 put him on four over, tied for 71st.