“Get better soon, Big Cat” - Tiger Woods receives special message from 4x major champion after back surgery announcement

Tiger Woods has received a heartfelt message from South African golfer Ernie Els after his back surgery. The American golfer underwent his seventh surgery on Friday and had a replacement of his lower back disc. He shared an update about it on his X (formerly Twitter) account.

Four-time Major winner Ernie Els shared a heartfelt message for Woods by sharing a post on his Instagram account, where he has around 163K followers. He posted a picture of the 15-time major winner in his popular red t-shirt and black pants, posed standing on the greens holding a driver in one hand.

Els had an overall text on the picture for the five-time Masters winner.

"Get better soon Big Cat - all the very best to you and your family," Els wrote.

This is not the first surgery for Tiger Woods in 2025. Earlier this year, while fans were expecting him to play at the Masters in Augusta National, Woods shared a post on his X account revealing that he had ruptured his Achilles tendon and underwent surgery.

He had surgery by Dr. Charlton Stucken at the Hospital for Special Surgery in West Palm Beach and has not played any tournaments since then. People were hoping to see him play at the PNC Championship 2025 in December, but weeks before that, he had another surgery.

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"I made a good decision" - Tiger Woods on his back surgery

Tiger Woods had a lumbar disc replaced. His surgery was performed by Dr. Shereaz Qureshi at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York.

He shared the details about it in a post on his X (formerly Twitter) account and released a statement talking about the surgery.

"After experiencing pain and lack of mobility in my back, I consulted with doctors and surgeons to have tests taken. The scans determined that I had a collapsed disc in L4/5 disc fragments and a compromised spinal canal. I opted to have my disc replaced yesterday, and I already know I made a good decision for my health and my back," Woods said.

Tiger Woods had not competed in any official PGA Tour events since his last outing at The Open Championship 2024. However, he struggled with his game and did not make the cut. He carded two rounds of 79 and 77.

Last season, he played in five tournaments but withdrew from the Genesis Invitational and only made the cut at the Masters, where he settled in 60th place.

However, earlier this year, he competed for the Jupiter Links GC in the inaugural edition of the tech-infused TGL series. In his statement about the back surgery, the American golfer shared the details but did not say anything about his return on the greens.

Edited by Ankita Yadav