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Phil Mickelson Sends Message After Tiger Woods News Emerges

Originally posted on Athlon Sports
By Rowan Fisher-Shotton | Last updated Oct 11, 2025 8:03 PM ET

Tiger Woods announced that he underwent lumbar disc replacement surgery on Friday for a collapsed L4/5 disc, disc fragments and a compromised spinal canal.

The procedure was performed by Dr. Sheeraz Qureshi at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York and described as successful, with Woods saying he already feels the decision was right for his health and mobility.

The operation is the latest interruption in a year-plus stretch of medical setbacks that began after he missed the cut at The Open in July 2024 and follows an Achilles repair earlier in 2025. Woods gave no timetable for a return to competition.

After the news was announced, Phil Mickelson, one of Woods' most famous on-course rivals, posted a brief message on X, saying, "I’m sorry to hear this and I wish him the best for a speedy recovery."

I’m sorry to hear this and I wish him the best for a speedy recovery. https://t.co/5xmTcAVJL7
— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) October 11, 2025

Unfortunately, Woods’ career has been repeatedly shaped by major procedures and traumatic injury.

The list includes multiple lumbar surgeries across the past decade culminating in this L4/5 replacement; ACL and knee procedures in the mid-2000s; the lengthy recovery after a 2021 single-vehicle crash that caused severe leg fractures; and the March 2025 minimally invasive repair of a ruptured left Achilles tendon suffered while training — among more than a dozen operations and procedures recorded over three decades.

Those compounded procedures have produced long absences from the PGA Tour and constrained his schedule to selective starts and nontraditional events in recent seasons.

Tiger Woods tees off on No. 4 during the second round of the Masters.Adam Cairns / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Statistically, Woods holds the edge over Mickelson in their head-to-head legacy: Woods’ 15 major championships and 82 PGA Tour wins versus Mickelson’s six majors and 45 PGA Tour wins.

The two rivals’ relationship has evolved from intense competition in the late 1990s/2000s to a more complex, occasionally cordial dynamic in later years.

Even though Woods has more wins, both men defined golf’s modern era and this brief exchange is another chapter in their storied rivalry.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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