Matt Mathias

Sports Editor

Mcm5909@psu.edu

Tiger Woods has given his first in depth interview since his severe car crash last February. Woods was driving at a high rate of speed and caused significant injuries to his right leg and foot. Many feared, when learning about the seriousness of the crash, that we may lose the star in a tragedy much like that which occurred with NBA legend and beloved father Kobe Bryant. However, Woods sustained injuries that were grave, but not life threatening. Since then, the golf legend has been recovering in privacy as he has been rehabilitating himself back to health.

In the interview with Golf Digest, Woods described how fearful he was that he may in fact lose his leg and leave the hospital with one of them surgically removed. In a quote, Woods described the situation saying, “there was a point in time when, I wouldn’t say it was 50/50, but it was damn near there if I was going to walk out of that hospital with one leg. . . I’m lucky to be alive and also have a limb.” Thankfully, the surgery went well. Woods did, however, remain in the hospital for a whole three weeks following the accident. After that, he was forced to be bed-ridden for the next three months after that.

Woods was asked about playing the Tour again one day when he is all but fully recovered. He responded that he has the will to play and hopes to return to competitive golf one day, but has to come to terms with the reality that he will likely never compete again at the highest level possible.

Woods is no stranger to major surgery. Throughout his accomplished career, he has had surgery multiple times on his knee and back, including a back fusion. Woods defied the odds following his recovery from that major surgery where he did the unthinkable, winning the 2019 Masters. It was his first major win in 11 years. He will undoubtedly go down in history as one of professional golf’s greatest of all time, with 15 major championship victories, second only to another legend in the golf world, Jack Nicklaus who holds the record with 18 major championships.

Woods described the difficulty he would have to face to be elite again in a statement in his interview with Golf Digest. “I don’t have to compete and play against the best players in the world to have a great life,” Woods explained. “After my back fusion, I had to climb Mount Everest one more time. I had to do it, and I did. This time around, I don’t think I’ll have the body to climb Mount Everest and that’s okay. I can still participate in the game of golf. I can still, if my legs get okay, I can still click off a tournament here or there.”

The reality is that Woods’ reign as golf’s most elite player is far over with his age and physical condition taken into consideration. Woods posted to his social media on November 21 a short clip of him at the driving range captioned, “Making Progress”, so golf fans can only hope to continue following his progress as he gets his body back into shape. Hopefully in the future, professional golf will be able to welcome Woods back to the tee a few more times before the end of his astounding career.