Zell Rowland confirmed today that he'll undergo an operation to fix a disk in his back immediately after the Santee Cooper Bassmaster Elite Series, which ends April 2.
"I've had X-rays and two MRIs and the doctor knows it's the fourth disk, but he really doesn't know what's wrong with it yet," he said. "He'll have to go in there and take a look.
"It's the same doctor who did Denny Brauer's surgery. I'll fly straight from Columbia, S.C. to Tyler (Texas), and I'll have it done there."
He said the back has been bothering him for several months. "I'm on medication now so that I don't go to my knees. The doctor didn't want me to go the whole year without having the surgery because it could get worse."
He hopes to be fishing at the Guntersville Elite Series just 2 1/2 weeks later. "The doctor said he knew I wasn't going to listen to anything he told me, but he said if you go to Guntersville and the wind blows, do me a favor and fish off the dock."
It's the second health-related issue he's encountered recently. He had successful surgery on his heart last fall.
"The older you get, the more you start breaking down. These young guys have a lot to look forward to."
