It will be a while before we see Justin Thomas back in action on the PGA Tour.
The 32-year-old, 16-time Tour winner announced on social media on Friday that he underwent a microdiscectomy – a surgical procedure to remove part of a herniated disc that is pressing on a spinal nerve root – on Thursday and will be out for the foreseeable future until he recovers. Thomas said the procedure was performed at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York and went well, as he delivered a personal video update to his followers.
“I’ve had some nagging pain in my hip for a few months and after some time off and the symptoms getting worse, an MRI showed I had a disc problem that needed to be addressed,” Thomas captioned the video. “My next few weeks will be a lot of rest before the rehabilitation process begins. I have a great team behind me who I fully trust will get me back to a better place than I was before!”
As for a timeline for a competitive return, Thomas said he’s not targeting a specific event.
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Prime Video will air the return of the PGA Tour’s “The Skins Game.”
Josh Berhow
“I’m not putting any tour on the calendar or a specific time to come back,” he wrote. “While I will miss a few events in early 2026, I want to be very smart and patient about letting my disc fully heal so it’s not an issue again. I’m very fortunate that the game of 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 make that injury ‘wait for the future.’
Thomas’ recovery means he will miss a scheduled appearance in the Restarting the Skins gamewhich will take place on November 28 and will feature Tommy Fleetwood, Keegan Bradley, Xander Schauffele, as well as the upcoming Hero World Challenge and PNC Championship. A Skins Game replacement for Thomas has not yet been named.
A full recovery from a microdiscectomy is generally expected to take three months, which could mean a mid-February return date. In 2025, Thomas’ tour schedule to start the year included the Sentry, American Express, AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Genesis and the Arnold Palmer Invitational. The Players Championship, which Thomas won in 2021, is scheduled to be played March 12-15, 2026.
