Justin Thomas to Undergo Back Surgery and Miss the Start of the 2026 Season
Golfer Justin Thomas, a two-time major winner, announced this Friday that he will miss the start of the 2026 PGA Tour season due to back surgery. Thomas explained through a statement on social media that he has been feeling discomfort in his hip for several months. After a period of rest and the worsening of symptoms, an MRI revealed a disc problem that required treatment. Thomas underwent surgery via microdiscectomy at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York on Thursday and has already been discharged. The 32-year-old golfer, currently eighth in the world ranking, won the RBC Heritage last season, achieving his 18th victory on the circuit and obtaining eight top-ten finishes in 2025. Thomas was scheduled to participate in the Hero World Challenge from December 4th to 7th, as well as in the rerun of the Skins Game on the Friday after Thanksgiving.Although he did not specify a date for his return to competitive golf, Thomas confirmed that he will miss events at the beginning of 2026. The usual recovery time for a microdiscectomy, a surgery Tiger Woods has undergone several times, is three months. Woods underwent a microdiscectomy on three occasions between 2014 and 2015, another in 2020, and a similar procedure in 2024. Last month, Woods announced that he had undergone disc replacement surgery. Thomas added: “I want to be very prudent and patient to allow my disc to heal completely and not become a problem again. I am very fortunate that golf allows us to play at a high level for a long time, and that’s what I plan to do: this procedure will allow me to do it without injuries in the future.”My next few weeks will be for a lot of rest before the rehabilitation process begins. I have a great team behind me whom I fully trust to return to a better place than I was before.
Justin Thomas
