Tiger Woods announced Tuesday that he has suffered a ruptured left Achilles tendon, forcing him off the course for a lengthy period of time as he recovers.

An "Achilles rupture" specifically describes a complete tear of the Achilles tendon, meaning the tendon is fully severed. Last year, Bernhard Langer tore his Achilles and returned to competition three months later, but a tear is not as severe an injury as a rupture, which is what Woods suffered.

Tiger Woods had a less invasive surgery for a ruptured Achilles tendon on Tuesday, which will keep him out of the Masters and leaves in question whether he can play in any other major championship the rest of the year.