Justin Thomas to miss start of 2026 PGA Tour season after undergoing surgery to repair disc issue
Thomas had a microdiscectomy to repair a disc injury and will miss time to start 2026
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Justin Thomas announced Friday evening that he underwent a microdiscectomy this week to repair a disc injury that was causing him nagging hip pain over recent months. Thomas, who has already been discharged from the hospital, posted a video while standing up, indicating he was recovering well from the procedure.
Thomas did not set a timetable for his return to the golf course but noted he will miss the start of the 2026 PGA Tour season at a minimum.
"My next few weeks will be a lot of resting before the rehab process begins," Thomas wrote. "I have a great team behind me who I fully trust to get me back to a better place than I was before! Before you ask, I'm not putting any tournament on the calendar or specific time for returning. While I will miss some events in the beginning of 2026, I want to be very smart and patient in letting my disc fully heal so it isn't an issue again. I'm very lucky that the game of golf allows us to play at a high level for a long time, and that's what I plan on doing - this procedure will allow me to do that injury free in the future. Can't wait to see y'all back out there."
Life update - I’ve had some nagging hip pain for a handful of months and after some time off and worsening symptoms, an MRI showed I had a disc problem that needed to be treated.
— Justin Thomas (@JustinThomas34) November 14, 2025
I had a successful microdiscectomy performed yesterday at Hospital for Special Surgery in NY and… pic.twitter.com/THcdqPUlnW
The 2026 PGA Tour season will start later than usual after The Sentry was cancelled due to drought conditions in Hawaii. Thomas won't set a target date, noting he will be patient and allow the disc to fully heal in hopes of avoiding any lingering issues.
Along with missing PGA Tour events, Thomas will no longer participate in the upcoming Skins Game competition on Black Friday. He was scheduled to compete with Keegan Bradley, Tommy Fleetwood and Xander Schauffele at his Panther National golf course in Florida. A replacement for Thomas was not immediately announced Friday.
Thomas will also sit out the start of the TGL season. The second year of the simulator golf league begins Dec. 28, and if Thomas is going to miss tournaments in the 2026 season, he will assuredly be out for at least a portion of the TGL season for the Atlanta Drive.
The 2025 campaign was a return to form for Thomas, who picked up his first win since 2022 at the RBC Heritage and added three runner-up finishes among his eight top 10s. That showing earned Thomas a spot on the United States Ryder Cup team and pushed him back into the conversation among golf's best. Thomas' performance tapered off later in the year with just one top 10 in his last six events, and it has now become clear some of that was due to hip pain caused by a disc issue.
