Tiger Woods chose surgery to heal his ailing back over a quest for another green jacket, announcing Tuesday that he will miss the Masters for the first time in his career. Wholesale New Balance Shoes . Woods said on his website that he had surgery Monday in Utah for a pinched nerve that had been hurting him for several months, knowing the surgery would keep him from Augusta National next week for the first time since he was a senior in high school. The No. 1 player in the world is a four-time Masters champion. "After attempting to get ready for the Masters, and failing to make the necessary progress, I decided in consultation with my doctors to have this procedure done, Woods said. "Id like to express my disappointment to the Augusta National membership, staff, volunteers and patrons that I will not be at the Masters. "Its a week thats very special to me," he said. "It also looks like Ill be forced to miss several upcoming tournaments to focus on my rehabilitation and getting healthy." The Masters gets the highest television ratings of any golf tournament, and Woods commands most of the attention, even though he last won a green jacket in 2005. He won his first Masters in 1997 when he set 20 records, from youngest Masters champion at 21 to his 12-shot margin of victory. "I know Tiger has been working very hard to return to form, and as I have said many times, Tiger has a lot of years of good golf ahead of him," Jack Nicklaus said. "I hate to see him robbed of some of that time by injury. But we all know he is doing what is in the best interest of his health and future. I wish him well on a speedy recovery." Nicklaus played 154 straight majors for which he was eligible until he missed the 1998 British Open because of an ailing left hip that he had replaced a year later. Nicklaus rarely had injury problems in compiling 18 professional majors, the record that Woods wants. Woods has been stuck on 14 majors for six years. Woods has had four surgeries on his left knee, and now his biggest concern is his back. He has been coping with back issues since last summer: a twinge in the final round of the PGA Championship and spasms in the final round of The Barclays that caused him to fall to his knees. Then, they returned with alarming regularity recently in Florida. He withdrew after 13 holes in the final round of the Honda Classic with what he described as lower back pain and spasms. Woods shot the highest final round of his career at Doral a week later when he said his back flared up again in the final round. He skipped the Arnold Palmer Invitational, where he was the two-time defending champion, to rest his back and do everything possible to be at Augusta National next week. "Tiger was gracious in keeping us updated of his condition and making us aware of his decision," Augusta National chairman Billy Payne said. "We wholeheartedly offered our best wishes for his immediate and long-term recovery." Woods said he had a microdiscectomy for the pinched nerve, performed by neurosurgeon Charles Rich. A microdiscectomy is a type of minimally invasive spine surgery to relieve pressure and pain caused by a herniated disc. Operating through a small incision in the lower back, surgeons remove small disc fragments that are pressing against spinal nerves. Recovery can take several weeks and doctors typically advise against bending and twisting the back until patients are completely healed "This is frustrating," Woods said. "But its something my doctors advised me to do for my immediate and long-term health." His website said repeating the motion of a golf swing can cause problems with a pinched nerve, and that the injury could have become worse if he had continued to play. Woods said he hopes to return to golf this summer, though he could not say when. Its possible he could at least start chipping and putting in three weeks. He will have to wait until the U.S. Open -- maybe longer -- to resume his quest to match Nicklaus in the majors. Woods won his 14th major at the 2008 U.S. Open on a badly injured left leg that required season-ending surgery two days after his playoff win at Torrey Pines. He has not won another major since then. This would have been the 20th straight Masters for Woods, dating to 1995 when he tied for 41st as the U.S. Amateur champion. He missed the British Open and PGA Championship in 2008 after knee surgery, and the U.S. Open and British Open in 2011 to heal more injuries in his left leg. But he never missed the Masters, even after the scandal in his personal life at the end of 2009. Woods had been out of golf for nearly five months dealing with a car crash into a fire hydrant, revelations of multiple extramarital affairs and 45 days in a Mississippi clinic when he returned to Augusta National under intense scrutiny. He tied for fourth. Even though he hasnt won the Masters in nine years, he had only finished out of the top 10 one time, in 2012. Woods has 79 career wins on the PGA Tour, three short of the record held by Sam Snead. He already was off to the worst start of his career. "Its tough right now, but Im absolutely optimistic about the future," Woods said. "There are a couple (of) records by two outstanding individuals and players that I hope one day to break. As Ive said many times, Sam and Jack reached their milestones over an entire career. I plan to have a lot of years left in mine." New Balance Running Shoes Outlet . Watching them over the past year - and in some cases, two years - has given us a starting point for this seasons Craigs List. New Balance Running Shoes Free Shipping . Serves hit by her surgically repaired shoulder often missed the mark, resulting in 12 double-faults.MINNEAPOLIS - Kurt Suzuki rarely makes errors or hits home runs. He did both on Saturday night, and the homer made up for a bad throw that could have cost Minnesota another game. The All-Star catcher went 2 for 3 with a solo homer and made an impressive slide into home plate that helped lift the Twins over first-place the Kansas City Royals, 4-1. Suzuki redeemed himself for an errant throw in the fourth that allowed Nori Aoki to score after stealing third and give Kansas City a 1-0 lead. The mistake came with his starting pitcher, Phil Hughes, looking dominant and locked in a duel with hard-throwing rookie Yordano Ventura. "The hardest part is Phil was throwing so good and for me to do something like that, thats what really got me a little bit," Suzuki said. It was his fourth error of the season. "It was pretty brutal," Suzuki said. "It was just one of those things where you get your body moving too quick and I lost the ball probably about right before my arm started coming forward. I said, This is not good." It looked as if that run would be all the Royals needed to win their fourth straight. Ventura had dominated Minnesotas lineup with his power for most of the night, consistently hitting into the upper-90s. Hughes (13-8) allowed one run, seven hits and struck out six over 7 1-3 to outlast the young righty. "You just dont want to be the guy that breaks first," Hughes said. "Obviously in a situation like that, I knew that one run might not be good enough and I had to at least keep it there." Ventura (9-9) threw six innings of one-hit ball before the Twins broke through in the seventh. With runners on second and third, Ventura threw a 99-mph fastball that shattered Danny Santanas bat — but Santana reached base when Billy Butler tried to throw out Suzuki at home. The throw was in time, but the tag by catcher Salvador Perez was off, and Suzuki scored. Brian Dozier followed with his 25th double of the season to score pincch-runner Eduardo Escobar. Discount New Balance Shoes. Kennys Vargas chased Ventura two batters later with a sacrifice fly to score Santana. "You got to put up more runs than one," Butler said. "Thats not the way it is every night, but thats the way it is tonight." Hughes has won three in a row after losing three straight starts. He also has allowed only three runs this month. Casey Fien pitched to two batters in the eighth and Glen Perkins pitched the ninth for this 31st save in 34 chances. SUZUKIS HOMER SURPRISES: Suzukis solo homer in the eighth off Aaron Crow was his first since May 20, a span of 217 at-bats. Asked if manager Ron Gardenhire said anything to him in the dugout, Suzuki laughed and said: "Yeah, he said, What happened? Whered that come from?" WALKS, WALKS AND MORE WALKS Ventura struggled with his command, walking a season-high six batters and getting called for a balk in the third inning. Still, he had a no-hitter through four innings despite allowing six base runners. None of his walks came around to score. The Royals lost a game Ventura started for just the second time in the last nine starts. "Command was off a little bit, but he did a nice job getting us to the seventh with a one-run lead," manager Ned Yost said. TRAINERS ROOM: Twins: A week after severely spraining his right ankle, RHP Anthony Swarzak appears to be fine and has avoided the disabled list. "He came and did everything out in the pen yesterday, actually simulated running off the mound going to first base. Hes fine," Gardenhire said. UP NEXT: Kansas Citys Jeremy Guthrie (8-10) will pitch Sunday against Tommy Milone (6-3) in the third of this four-game series. Guthrie will try to bounce back from his previous start when he allowed six runs — four earned — against Oakland on Tuesday as the As snapped the Royals eight-game winning streak. Milone makes his second start for the Twins since being acquired from Oakland last month. Wholesale NFL Jerseys Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys From China Cheap Nike Basketball Jerseys Wholesale Hockey Jerseys China Nike Baseball JerseysCheap College Jerseys China Cheap Football Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Canada Wholesale NHL Jerseys Canada Wholesale Nike MLB Jerseys Canada Cheap NBA Jerseys Authentic Canada Stitched Soccer Jerseys Canada Cheap Jerseys Canada NFL ' ' '