Tiger Woods may win his first major title in a decade at the 2018 Masters in Augusta, Ga., after undergoing spinal fusion surgery last year, USA Today reports.
1. Mr. Woods underwent his fourth back surgery in less than three years April 20, 2017, to remove a large portion of a degenerative disc. Richard Guyer, MD, of Plano-based Texas Back Institute, performed the procedure.
"I thought prior to the fusion surgery that that's pretty much it," Mr. Woods said at a press conference. "I'll have a nice, comfortable and great life, but I'll never be able to swing the club like I used to speed-wise — there's no way [after] lower back fusion."
2. After the surgery, however, Mr. Woods reported not feeling any pain. "Yes, I'm much tighter, but I don't have any pain... all of a sudden, I have this pop and my body and my speed's back."
3. Mr. Woods tied for second at the Valspar Championship 2018 in Tampa Bay, Fla., and got to within one shot of the lead on the back nine of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Bay Hill, Fla., a week later.
4. The last tournament Mr. Woods won was the WGC-Bridgestone Invitation in Akron, Ohio, in August 2013.
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