Greg Norman will miss the three remaining majors this year and the rest of the American PGA Tour season after undergoing arthroscopic surgery yesterday on his left shoulder.
The 43-year-old Australian, who has missed only five majors since 1980, withdrew from The Players Championship in late March because of shoulder pain and then missed the cut two weeks later at the US Masters.
"We have known for about four or five days that surgery was necessary," said Norman's business manager Bart Collins in Florida.
The operation was performed yesterday by Dr Richard Steadman at the Steadman Hawkins Sports Medicine Foundation in Vail, Colorado.
Collins said a tentative timetable for Norman's return to competition would be at the Shark Shootout in Thousand Oaks, California, in November.
Collins said Norman has a bone spur under the top of the left shoulder that is causing tendinitis.
"If everything goes according to plan, Greg is going to be able to play tournament golf in late October or early November," said Collins. "Right now we are aiming for the Shark Shootout."
With nearly $12 million, Norman is the all-time leading money winner on the US PGA Tour. He won the British Open Championship in 1986 and 1993 and has finished second in eight major championships.
