Tiger Woods faces a race against time to be fit for this summer’s Open after undergoing ankle surgery.
The 15-time Major champion withdrew from the Masters during the course of the third round earlier this month because of the pain in his foot.
On Wednesday he underwent ankle fusion surgery, which typically has a recovery time of 12 weeks. That looks set to rule him out of both the PGA Championship and the US Open.
There are also doubts over Woods’ Open participation and indeed whether the 47-year-old can get back to the top of the game two years after his high-speed car accident.
A statement on his social media channels said: “Earlier today, Tiger underwent subtalar fusion procedure to address his post-traumatic arthritis from his previous talus fracture.
“It was performed by Dr Martin O’Malley at HSS Sports Medicine Institute in New York City. He has determined the surgery to be successful. Tiger is currently recovering and looks forward to beginning his rehabilitation.”
Woods was told he was lucky to be alive following the road accident in February 2021 and doctors feared they might have to amputate his leg.
On his return, he has struggled with recurring problems with the damaged leg. Although he made the cut at Augusta, rain delays left him needing to play 29 holes on the final Sunday at a time when he has been struggling to finish 18 in a day.
Woods is no stranger to unlikely comebacks. He won his first major in 11 years at the 2019 Masters following back surgery.
Open bosses, meanwhile, are set to meet with environmental protest groups in the build-up to July’s event in a bid to diminish the threat of disruption at the fourth and final major of the season.
Just Stop Oil protestors caused chaos at the World Snooker Championship earlier this week, while animal rights groups broke into Aintree at last weekend’s Grand National.
The R&A expect in excess of a quarter of a million people at this year’s Open and have begun discussions with protest groups including the possibility of designated areas where they can legitimately protest.
