PGA Tour legend and 15 time major champion Tiger Woods was seriously injured in a one-car accident in Orange County California early this morning. The car rolled over several times, ended laying up on its driver’s side door, and Woods had to be extricated though the vehicle’s windshield with prying tools and axes. As of this report, Woods was in surgery for what are described as severe injuries to both legs. Woods just finished having his fifth spinal surgery only a few short weeks ago.
Woods’ injuries were not life threatening, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department told local news outlets. The sheriff’s department noted that his car “sustained major damage.” An L.A. County Sheriff’s Dept. source told news outlets they did not believe alcohol was involved but they did not say whether any other substance was possibly involved.
In a statement, Woods’s agent Mark Steinberg said the golfer suffered “multiple leg injuries.”
“He is currently in surgery and we thank you for your privacy and support,” the statement said.
Authorities are investigating the crash. TMZ seems to hint in their article that speed may have been a factor, alleging that witnesses tell TMZ that Woods was staying at a hotel where a major network TV was being filmed, and that shortly before his accident “an agitated and impatient Woods….took off fast” from the hotel and was driving so erratically, he nearly got in an accident with the director of the film shoot, who was shaken enough to report the incident. According to TMZ, the incident between Woods and the director occurred as roughly 7:00 a.m. PST, and the time of the accident is reported as 7:12 a.m. PST.
An LA Times report via Golf News Net might support TMZ’s inferences. Ryan Ballengee writes, “According to the Los Angeles Times, Woods is said to have been traveling at a high speed when he hit the median dividing the road. His car cross over the median, rolling multiple times before his car rolled over into the hillside, stopping some 15 yards up the hill. Woods appears to have been driving a courtesy car for the Genesis Invitational, a PGA Tour event he hosted over the weekend. Woods has been transported to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.”
This is the third motor vehicle accident for Woods in the last 12 years. In 2009 Tiger infamously crashed his Cadillac Escalade after being chased from his house by his angry, 9-iron wielding ex-wife, Elin Nordegren. That accident triggered a bevy of mistresses and strumpets alleging they all had infidelities with the golfer.
Then in 2017, Woods was found in the wee hours of the night passed out behind the wheel of his Mercedes with significant damage to one side of the vehicle. He was busted for DUI and pleaded guilty to reckless driving. According to a New York post report:
“He told officers that he had a reaction to several prescription drugs, including Vicodin and Xanax. Soon after his arrest, he announced he was seeking “professional help to manage my medications” and dealing with back pain and a sleep disorder. He pleaded guilty to reckless driving in a deal to avoid conviction for DUI, and was sentenced to one year of probation and a $250 fine. Woods later checked into a clinic to get help with prescription medication and a sleep disorder.”
This past weekend, Woods told Jim Nantz in a Genesis Open interview spot that he hoped to return to the Masters after the most recent back surgery, but wasn’t sure he would heal in time. This accident seems to assure Woods will not enter the 2021 event this April as a player.
***THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY WHICH WE WILL UPDATE AS CIRCUMSTANCES WARRANT***
From the press conference: the intersection is known to be dangerous and sees many collisions, including fatal ones, but the sheriff’s deputy said Woods is lucky to be alive. Also, that deputy did have his body cam on, so there is footage of Woods’s conversations with that officer.
