Tiger Woods drops out of Hero World Challenge after back surgery

The golf world will wait at least a little bit longer to see Tiger Woods.

The 15-time major champion announced Monday evening that he will not compete in the Hero World Challenge, the event he hosts annually in the Bahamas, as he continues to recover from microdiscectomy surgery on September 13.

“I am disappointed that I will not be able to compete this year at the Hero World Challenge, but always look forward to being tournament host and spending the week with @HeroMotoCorp,” he posted on social media on Monday evening. “Excited to welcome our exemptions @JustinThomas34, @JDayGolf and @NickDunlap62 into the field.”

The Hero, scheduled for the first week in December, attracts the golf world’s attention annually for its proximity to Woods. Tiger serves as tournament host and has used the event as a staging ground for various competitive reboots over the last decade.

Monday’s news indicates he is still recovering from the back surgery that sidelined him on September 13, the sixth procedure to his spine since the fusion surgery that breathed new life into his competitive career in the late 2010s. Woods said in September that he hoped the latest surgery — a minimally invasive procedure to remove a herniated disc and the associated pressure on the nerves — would alleviate the “back spasms and pain” he was experiencing throughout much of the 2024 season.

“I look forward to tackling the rehab and preparing myself to return to normal life activities, including golf,” he said in a statement then.

His withdrawal from the field might arrive as a disappointment to golf fans, but it is hardly a surprise. Woods is still just 10 weeks removed from the surgery, and the spinal torque required of the golf swing demands a slow rehab process. He missed two months with a similar injury prior to his car accident in 2021 — a timeline that likely wouldn’t be shortened to allow Woods a start in a limited-field event.

Woods has played sparingly in recent years, but he has earned a regular presence on the PGA Tour’s December schedule. He returned to the Hero and competed in 2023, and has played each of the last several years in the annual PNC Championship alongside his son, Charlie. Woods has still not announced his intentions for the PNC, but he would be able to compete in that event from the comfort of a golf cart, a luxury not afforded at the Hero.

In either case, though, golf fans won’t have to wait long to hear from the man himself. Tiger will still be in attendance at the Hero World Challenge, and will give his annual press conference in his role as tournament host.