Tiger Woods has suffered another major injury setback.
Woods revealed Tuesday afternoon that he recently ruptured his left Achilles tendon while training and had surgery early this morning. The procedure, which Woods described as a “minimally invasive” repair was done by Dr. Charlton Stucken at the Hospital for Special Surgery in West Palm Beach, Florida.
“As I began to ramp up my own training and practice at home, I felt a sharp pain in my left Achilles, which was deemed to be ruptured,” Woods wrote. "... I am back home now and plan to focus on my recovery and rehab, thank you for all the support.”
Added Dr. Stucken: “The surgery went smoothly, and we expect a full recovery.”
As I began to ramp up my own training and practice at home, I felt a sharp pain in my left Achilles, which was deemed to be ruptured.
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) March 11, 2025
This morning, Dr. Charlton Stucken of Hospital for Special Surgery in West Palm Beach, Florida performed a minimally-invasive Achilles tendon… pic.twitter.com/KAVZfcRxlE
Woods did not offer insight on the severity of the injury or a recovery timeline, though the term rupture is generally associated with a complete tear of the tendon, while a tear can be different grades, ranging from 1-3.
Some other famous athletes have suffered Achilles ruptures, including NBA stars Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant, and NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Bryant missed eight months of action in 2013 while Durant was out for about 18 months in 2019-20. Rodgers was back on the practice field just 77 days after his injury in the Jets’ 2023 season opener, though he didn’t compete in a game until last season.
PGA Tour Champions player Bernhard Langer, 66, missed only three months after tearing his Achilles playing pickleball last year.
Even the most aggressive timelines have Woods at least missing next month’s Masters, which is scheduled for April 10-13.
Woods competed in last week’s Seminole Pro-Member on Monday before taking part in his TGL team’s final match on Tuesday night. Woods did not commit to The Player, though, saying last week that he’d only picked up his golf clubs three times since the Feb. 4 death of his mother, Kultida – twice for TGL and another for a round with President Donald Trump.
Woods also withdrew from last month’s Genesis Invitational after initially committing, saying that he wasn’t mentally ready to compete.
“I haven’t really gotten into it,” Woods told reporters last Tuesday. “My heart is not really into practicing right now. I’ve had so many other things to do with the Tour and trying to do other things. Once I start probably feeling a little bit better and start getting into it, I’ll start looking at the schedule.”
Woods hasn’t played on the PGA Tour since last summer’s Open Championship. He underwent his sixth back operation, this one a microdecompression surgery, last September.
