Golf insider spills beans on Tiger Woods' greatest regret amid latest setback

Golf reporter Dan Rapaport has revealed what Tiger Woods described as his greatest regret during a private conversation.

There is growing speculation that Woods, 49, has played his final professional tournament after undergoing yet more surgery on his back. 

Woods announced on his social media channels last week that he had a disc replacement surgery in New York on 10 October. 

Scans determined the 15-time major champion also had a "compromised spinal canal". 

"I already know I made a good decision for my health and back," Woods said. In a departure from previous statements, Woods did not say if he was planning on mounting another comeback. 

The successful procedure, performed by Dr Sheeraz Qureshi, marked the seventh occasion Woods had surgery on his back in the past decade. 

Although Woods made an appearance in TGL in January and played alongside his teenage son Charlie at the parent/child PGA Tour event towards the end of 2024, the golfer has not played in a competitive event since last July's Open Championship at Royal Troon. 

He was expected to play in the Genesis Invitational - the PGA Tour that he serves as tournament host - this February but withdrew following the death of his mother Tida. 

Then, in March, he ruptured his left achilles tendon while training at home. That injury ended his plans to make his 26th Masters appearance at Augusta National. 

The aforementioned Rapaport recently claimed on his podcast, Dan on Golf, that he once spoke to Woods about all the injuries he sustained. 

He said: "I remember a conversation that I had with Tiger at one point where I was like, 'When you look back on all your injuries, is there one thing that you would tell yourself not to do, one thing you regret?' 

"And he said, 'Yes, I shouldn't have run so much.'

"He used to run miles and miles a day and his knee took a beating. That's another thing that's a huge issue."

Woods had his first knee surgery in 1994 aged 19. He needed surgery to remove two benign tumours and scar tissue from his left knee. He went on to have four more knee surgeries. 

A severe car crash in February 2021 also left Woods with multiple fractures in his leg, ankle and foot. 

Added Rapaport: "Tiger gets a lot of credit for inspiring golfers to get in the gym, and he's definitely a huge reason why.

"But if you talk to a modern strength and conditioning person, they would be like, 'I don't know what the hell he was doing, because no one gets injured like this!'"

Should Tiger Woods just retire?

It's highly likely Woods' days as a competitor at the elite level are over. 

He won't want to admit this, but surely this latest setback will prove a step too far. 

It is very sad to witness but now the prospect of Woods teeing it up in a select few PGA Tour events and the major championships now seems impossible to imagine. 

Woods will turn 50 this December and may be tempted by the prospect of playing in a few PGA Tour Champions events (aided by a cart) to get in some competitive reps next year. 

But will he really want to go through another rehab when it seems like the best he can manage is making a cut? I'm not so sure anymore. 

Woods has always said he did not want to be a ceremonial golfer but the fact of the matter is that is what he has been since he returned to action at the 2022 Masters following his car crash the year prior.