Tiger Woods undergoes 'successful' surgery following Masters withdrawal

Tiger Woods has completed “successful” surgery on his ankle following his withdrawal from The Masters earlier this month, the 47-year-old announced Wednesday.

The 15-time major winner made the cut at Augusta National despite admitting to “constant” pain, only to pull out of the major before the resumption of the rain-delayed third round.

Visibly struggling to walk during a grim start to his round, Woods later explained that the withdrawal was due to a reaggravation of his plantar fasciitis, a tissue inflammation that causes pain on the bottom of the foot.

What next for Tiger Woods after painful Masters withdrawal?

The surgery, performed at HSS Sports Medicine Institute in New York City, was deemed to be “successful” by Dr Martin O’Malley, according to a post from Woods’ Twitter account.

“Earlier today, Tiger Woods underwent a subtalar fusion procedure to address post-traumatic arthritis from his previous talus fracture,” the statement said.

“Tiger is currently recovering and looks forward to beginning his rehabilitation.”

The statement did not specify a timeline for Woods’ recovery process or return to competitive action. The next major on the calendar, the PGA Championship at Oak Hill in New York, looms on May 18.

The golf icon’s competitive appearances have been sporadic since suffering severe leg injuries in a serious car crash in 2021, with Woods prioritizing taking part at the majors.

His 25th appearance at The Masters marked just his second competitive event of the year, and in 2022, his PGA Tour outings were limited to The Masters, The PGA Championship and The Open Championship.

Woods’ withdrawal at Augusta sparked further questions about his future in game, with Woods himself unsure as to how many Masters appearances he had left in him.

Sky Sports analyst Butch Harmon said he had hoped Woods wouldn’t make the cut at the tournament, given the “agony” he saw the golf legend enduring while navigating the hilly Augusta terrain.

“If you look where The Open is this year [Royal Liverpool], it’s fairly flat … US Open in LA – yes, the LA Country Club’s got some hills and stuff,” Harmon added.

“The difficulty here [Augusta National] is the walk, it’s just such a tough walk for everybody and so I think it had to happen for his sake. Will we see him again? Gosh, I hope so.”