Golf great Tiger Woods is having surgery in hospital after suffering multiple leg injuries in a car accident in Los Angeles on Tuesday morning (Wednesday NZT).
“Tiger Woods was in a single-car accident this morning in California where he suffered multiple leg injuries,” his agent Mark Steinberg said.
“He is currently in surgery and we thank you for your privacy and support.”
A spokesman on a US television network said Woods has “non life-threatening injuries”.
“Reports from the scene between paramedics are that [Tiger Woods] has potentially broken both of his legs”, ESPN SportsCenter Michael Eves said.
“He was alert and conscious when they took him from the car and placed him in the ambulance,”
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department tweeted that Woods was injured in a crash in Ranchos Palos Verdes, California, and had to be cut out of the car with the ‘jaws of life’.
However, Los Angeles Sheriff Department spokesman Captain James Powers later denied that the ‘jaws of life had to be used to free Woods from his vehicle.
“It’s just not an accurate statement … maybe somebody misunderstood or they assumed that ‘extricate’ meant… they … correlated that with the jaws of life,” he said.
“All I know is that the fire department extricated him. I don’t know how they did that. I know they didn’t use the jaws of life.”
The LA Times reported that sources said Woods had to be removed through the car’s windshield.
“Because of the situation and the way that you found the vehicle, he wasn’t able to open the door and come out,” LA County Fire Department spokesman Henry Narvaez said.
“We extricated him, we helped assist him out of the vehicle.”
A helicopter over the scene of Woods’ accident showed a car on its side with the front end heavily damaged. Air bags appeared to be deployed. The wreckage appeared to be just off the side of a road on a hillside.
Tiger Woods had to be extricated from the vehicle with the ‘jaws of life’ tools, the LA County Sheriff’s Department said. KABC-TV/AP
The LA Times reported that law enforcement sources who requested anonymity said that Woods was travelling at a high rate of speed and lost control of the vehicle before crossing the centre divider. Woods’ SUV rolled multiple times before coming to a halt.
Woods had been running late for morning lessons he was giving and was seen driving his SUV at high speed from the nearby hotel where he had been staying, TMZ and Fox News reported.
Sources described his condition as “moderate to critical.”
The crash occurred shortly before 7:15 am Tuesday local time, officials said.
The 45-year-old Woods, a 15-time major winner, was in Los Angeles over the weekend as the tournament host of the Genesis Invitational at Riviera, where he presented the trophy.
He was to spend Monday and Tuesday filming with Discovery-owned GOLFTV, with whom he has an endorsement contract. One tweet on Monday showed him in a cart smiling with David Spade.
According to Golf Digest, also owned by Discovery, the TV shoot was on-course lessons to celebrities, such as Spade and Dwyane Wade. He did not play.
Woods last played on December 20 in the PNC Championship with his 11-year-old son, Charlie. He had a fifth surgery on his back, a microdiscectomy, two days before Christmas and gave no indication when he would return.
The Masters is on April 8-11 and when asked if he would be there during the CBS telecast, Woods replied, “God, I hope so.”
This is the third time Woods has been involved in a car investigation. The most notorious was the early morning after Thanksgiving in 2009, when his SUV ran over a fire hydrant and hit a tree. That was the start of shocking revelations that he had been cheating on his wife with multiple women. Woods lost major corporate sponsorship, went to a rehabilitation clinic in Mississippi and did not return to golf for five months.
In May 2017, Florida police found him asleep behind the wheel of a car parked awkwardly on the side of the road. He was arrested on a DUI charge and said later he had an unexpected reaction to prescription medicine his back pain. Woods later pleaded guilty to reckless driving and checked into a clinic to get help with prescription medication and a sleep disorder.
Leading US golfer Justin Thomas said news of Woods’ accident “hurts”.
Thomas, who described himself as now one of Woods’ closest friends, said: “I just hope he’s alright … just worried for his kids.”
Tiger Woods’ major milestones
October 2004: Marries Elin Nordegren.
June 2007: Nordegren gives birth to their first child, daughter Samantha, a day after Woods finishes runner-up in the US Open.
June 2008: Wins the US Open in a playoff at Torrey Pines for his 14th major, four short of the record held by Jack Nicklaus. A week later, he has reconstructive surgery on his left knee to repair a torn ACL and two stress fractures in his left tibia. He is out for eight months.
February 2009: Wife gives birth to their son, Charlie.
August 2009: Loses a two-shot lead in the final round of the PGA Championship to YE Yang, the first time Woods has lost a 54-hole lead in a major.
November 2009: Crashes his SUV into a tree and a fire hydrant outside his Windemere, Florida home. Within a few weeks, his personal life unravels with reports of multiple extramarital affairs and he loses major sponsorship endorsements. He spends 45 days in a clinic and does not return to golf until the 2010 Masters.
August 2010: His divorce is finalised.
March 2012: Wins the Arnold Palmer Invitational for his first PGA Tour victory since the scandal in his personal life.
April 2014: Has back surgery a week before the Masters and misses Augusta National for the first time.
August 2014: Misses the cut in the PGA Championship and says he will take the rest of the year off, including the Ryder Cup, to get healthy.
February 2015: Looking like an amateur with his short game, shoots 82 in the Phoenix Open to miss the cut. A week later at Torrey Pines, withdraws after 11 holes. Announces he is taking time off to work on his game, saying that “my play, and scores, are not acceptable for tournament golf.”
April 2015: Returns at the Masters, his chipping issues gone, and ties for 17th.
June 2015: Shoots an 85 in the third round of the Memorial, his highest score as a professional.
August 2015: Misses the cut in his third straight major at the PGA Championship.
September 2015: Has a second back surgery.
October 2015: Has a third procedure on his back.
December 2015: In a sombre press conference at his Hero World Challenge, Woods says of his future, “So where is the light at the end of the tunnel? I don’t know.” He says he wants to play again and anything else he achieves will be “gravy.”
January 2017: Makes first PGA Tour start since 2015 and misses the cut at Torrey Pines.
April 2017: Has a fourth back surgery, this one to fuse his lower back.
May 2017: Arrested and briefly jailed in Jupiter, Florida, on suspicion of DUI. Police find him asleep behind the wheel of his car in the early morning with the engine running. He attributes it to a bad combination of pain medication.
October 2017: Woods pleads guilty to reckless driving and agrees to enter a diversion programme. Prosecutors drop the DUI charge under the plea agreement.
December 2017: Returns to competition at his Hero World Challenge, posts three rounds in the 60s and ties for ninth against an 18-man field, 10 shots behind.
July 2018: Takes the lead in the final round of the British Open, only to make double bogey on the 12th hole and finish in a tie for sixth.
August 2018: Closes with a 64, his lowest final round ever in a major, and is runner-up to Brooks Koepka in the PGA Championship.
September 2018: Wins the Tour Championship for his 80th career victory on the PGA Tour, leaving him two shy of the record held by Sam Snead.
April 2019: Wins the Masters for his fifth green jacket and 15th major title, his first in 11 years. He moves within three victories of Jack Nicklaus’ record for major championships.
December 2020: Has a fifth back surgery, a microdiscectomy.
February 23, 2021: Is in a single-car accident in suburban Los Angeles and is extricated from the rolled over vehicle, suffering leg injuries that require surgery.
