Tiger Woods underwent surgery to stabilise compound fractures of his tibia and fibula after Tuesday's accident; he has been transferred to the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center; Los Angeles County Sheriff says Woods won't face criminal charges; Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson offer their support
Friday 26 February 2021 14:54, UK
Tiger Woods has been moved to a new hospital in Los Angeles to continue his recovery from surgery following his serious car accident.
The 15-time major winner underwent surgery to stabilise compound fractures of his tibia and fibula after the accident on Tuesday and has now been transferred from the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center to the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff said Woods, 45, would not face criminal charges.
"Woods was transferred to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for continuing orthopaedic care and recovery," Harbor-UCLA Medical Center interim CEO Anish Mahajan said on the hospital's Twitter account.
"It was an honour to provide orthopaedic trauma care to one of our generation's greatest athletes."
Notah Begay III, a close friend of Woods and fellow golfer on the PGA Tour, says that Woods is communicating with family now and is past the "critical" phase.
"The good news is Tiger has moved to a critical part in this whole recovery phase," he said. "He is post-surgery now and nothing seems to be critical at the moment.
"The most important thing is that he has also been able to receive some communication from family and some limited visitation, trying to create this safety net and support network around him to try and push him through this whole situation."
Woods, who recovered from numerous surgeries to break an 11-year major drought and win the 2019 Masters, has received an outpouring of support from friends and athletes as well as former US Presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama in the wake of the crash.
Phil Mickelson feared the worst when he saw pictures of the crash, but is relieved Wood is recovering.
"All the guys here appreciate what he has meant to the game of golf, for us and the PGA Tour," he said. "We are all appreciative of what he has done for us but right now that is so far from our minds.
"I thought Rory said it well that we are just lucky and appreciative that his kids did not lose their father. We are all hoping and praying for a full and speedy recovery, but we are also thankful as that looked awful and we are thankful he is still with us."
Rory McIlroy insisted that Woods surviving his horrific car crash in California far outweighed the importance of returning to competitive golf in the future.
"He's not Superman," was McIlroy's abrupt reminder that golf fans should be grateful that Woods will be able to go home to his family when he leaves hospital to begin a long road to recovery.
"He's a human being at the end of the day, and he's already been through so much," McIlroy added.
"At this stage I think everyone should just be grateful that he's here, that he's alive, that his kids haven't lost their dad. That's the most important thing. Golf is so far from the equation right now, it's not even on the map at this point.
"He's here, he's fine, he's got some pretty bad injuries, but he's going to be okay. I was looking at some of the coverage yesterday and they were talking as if he was gone. It's like, he was in a car crash. It was really bad, he's very fortunate to be here, which is great, but I mean, that's the extent of it."
Dustin Johnson hopes Woods can make a "Ben Hogan-style comeback" and return to golf after his serious car crash.
Hogan was involved in a near-fatal car crash in 1949 that led to doctors warning him he would never walk again, only for the American to defy medical opinion and go on to win six more major titles. Johnson hopes to see Woods able to get back playing on the PGA Tour.
"Hate to see the news about Tiger," Johnson wrote on Twitter. "Wishing him a quick recovery and a Ben Hogan-style comeback. If anyone can do it, it's TW."
Johnson later told reporters ahead of the WGC-Workday Championship: "Obviously it's a terrible situation, you never want anything bad to happen to people. Obviously hope for a speedy recovery.
"He's such a big part of the PGA Tour and what it has become today. Once he is not playing anymore, definitely the game will miss him, but I feel like he'll always somehow be around and involved with the game."
Get the best prices and book a round at one of 1,700 courses across the UK & Ireland
