Tiger Woods’ knee surgery punctuates brutal end to season

Tiger Woods had yet another surgery.

He announced on Twitter on Tuesday that he underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee last week “to repair minor cartilage damage.” This marks the fifth time over the last 25 years Woods has had surgery on his left knee. Woods’ agent, Mark Steinberg, told the Associated Press that Woods’ knee had been bothersome for a few months.

“I expect Tiger to make a full recovery,” Dr. Vern Cooley, who performed the surgery, said in a statement. “We did what was needed, and also examined the entire knee. There were no additional problems.”

Woods, 43, had the surgery during the Tour Championship, which he didn’t qualify for after failing to crack the top 30 in the FedEx Cup standings by the end of the previous week’s BMW Championship. That ended a season which started with promise as Woods won the Masters, but he mostly struggled the rest of the year with missed cuts at the PGA Championship and the British Open.

“I would like to thank Dr. Cooley and his team,” Woods said. “I’m walking now and hope to resume practice in the next few weeks. I look forward to traveling and playing in Japan in October.”

Woods, who has had major back issues and underwent his fourth back surgery two years ago, withdrew from the Northern Trust at Liberty National earlier this month with an oblique strain.