Steve Stricker underwent back surgery to relieve problems in his left hip and quad, and will be out for at least eight weeks.
The 47-year-old Stricker, who has 12 PGA Tour victories, went to a reduced schedule last year and played only 11 official tournaments, teeing it up for the first time in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship late in February, the final event of the West Coast Swing.
Stricker is not expected to play again until sometime on the Florida Swing.
“I’m very excited to get back to practicing and competing in 2015 and expect to be 100 percent physically, which really excites me,” said Stricker, who underwent a one-hour outpatient procedure performed by Dr. Thomas Zdeblick at University of Wisconsin Hospital.
“I’ve been limited the last several years and I’m confident the procedure will allow me to perform at the level I expect from myself. I don’t have a target date for a return to the PGA Tour at this point. That will very much depend on how my body responds to the surgery and rehab.”
After taking three months for rest and rehabilitation following the PGA Championship in August, Stricker played the Hero World Challenge and the Franklin Templeton Shootout last month.
While he was pain-free after those events, tests revealed that Stricker would continue to have issues without surgery.
