Graham DeLaet, who has not played a PGA Tour event since October, has opted to have a procedure on his back and will need six to 12 months to recover, he said Tuesday.
DeLaet, 36, who had a stem cell injection late last year, said his L4-L5 disc degeneration has gotten worse since that procedure and that he’s “exhausted every other option” other than to have microdiscectomy surgery.
“I’ve seen multiple doctors over the past couple months with hopes of getting direction so I can be pain free and play again,” DeLaet wrote on Twitter. “… I know from past experience that this will give me the chance to compete at my best again.”
He finished fifth in the season-opening Safeway Open in October 2017. He hasn’t won on the PGA Tour but has five international victories and career earnings in excess of $11 million.