New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Woods seriously injured in crash on steep LA-area road
Golf superstar undergoes surgery for leg injuries after wreck
LOS ANGELES — Tiger Woods was in the driver’s seat of a mangled SUV that rolled and ended up on its side down a steep roadway in the Los Angeles suburbs Tuesday morning, seatbelt still fastened, both legs seriously injured.
He was lucid enough to give his name —“Tiger” — to the sheriff’s deputy who had poked his head through a hole in the windshield.
“At that moment, it clicked in my mind and I immediately recognized him as Tiger Woods,” Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Carlos Gonzalez said Tuesday.
The single-car crash was another setback for
Woods, the preeminent golfer of his generation who has spent the last decade in a cycle of injuries, self-inflicted personal problems and an arrest for DUI. Each time, he returned to the course and won.
Even at 45, Woods is among the more recognizable sports figures in the world and remains golf’s biggest draw. His 2019 Masters victory was seen as a transcendent comeback and further cemented his reputation for toughness and clutch performances. Briefly Tuesday, the world paused and worried that Woods might be critically injured or worse. As it became clear that his life wasn’t in danger, the obvious question came out: Can he play golf again?
The Los Angeles Times and ESPN, citing sources it did not name, said Woods had a shattered ankle and two leg fractures, including a compound fracture.
“As if his body hasn’t endured enough,” Jon
Rahm, the No. 2 player in the world, said from the Workday Championship in Florida. “I just hope he can get out of the hospital after recovery and he can still play with his kids and have a normal life.”
His agent said Woods underwent surgery on his leg, and the injuries were described as serious. No charges were filed, police said there was no evidence he was impaired and no one else was injured.
It was the 10th surgery for Woods, who has suffered knee, back and neck problems for more than a decade.
Woods was in Los Angeles over the weekend as tournament host of the Genesis Invitational that ended Sunday, and then to film content for his sponsor, Discovery-owned GOLFTV. He was not playing while recovering from a fifth back surgery on
Dec. 23.
Woods was alone in the SUV when it crashed into a raised median, crossed two oncoming lanes and rolled several times, authorities said at a news conference. Police said Woods was alert as firefighters pried open the front windshield to get him out.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said the airbags deployed and the inside of the SUV stayed mostly intact, which
“gave him a cushion to survive the crash.”
There was no immediate evidence that Woods was impaired. Authorities said they checked for any odor of alcohol or other signs he was under the influence of a substance and found none. They didn’t say how fast he was driving.
The crash happened about 7:15 a.m. on a sweeping, downhill stretch of a two-lane road through upscale suburbs. Gonzalez, the first to get to the wreck, said he sometimes catches people topping 80 mph in the 45 mph zone and crashes are common.
“I will say that it’s very fortunate that Mr. Woods was able to come out of this alive,” Gonzalez said.
Thoughts and prayers have come from everywhere — Jack Nicklaus and Michael Jordan, Mike Tyson, and former Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, who has played golf with Woods and awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2019.
Woods, who shares with Sam Snead the PGA Tour record of 82 career victories, had said during the Genesis Invitational television broadcast that he was awaiting one more test from his Dec. 23 microdiscectomy surgery before learning if he could expand his work. Asked about playing the Masters on April 8-11, Woods replied, “God, I hope so.”
Woods has carried the sport since his recordsetting Masters victory in 1997 when he was 21, winning at the most prolific rate in modern PGA Tour history. He is singularly responsible for TV ratings spiking, which led to enormous increases in prize money.
He feared he would never play again until fusion surgery on his lower spine in April 2017. He returned a year later, and won the 2018 Tour Championship.
He played patient, calculating golf as other contenders wilted on the final nine holes to win the 2019 Masters, his first major in 11 years. The previous one was the U.S. Open in 2008 at Torrey Pines, on a left leg with shredded knee ligaments and a double stress fracture. He had reconstructive surgery a few days later.
Woods last played Dec. 20 in the PNC Championship in Orlando, Florida, an unofficial event where players are paired with parents or children. He played with his son, Charlie, who is now 12. Woods also has a 13-year-old daughter, Samantha.
The news put a damper on the World Golf Championship in Florida, where Woods was eligible to play.
“I’m sick to my stomach,” said Justin Thomas, No. 3 in the world and among the younger players whom Woods has embraced. “It hurts to see one of my closest friends get in an accident. Man, I just hope he’s all right.”
NEW YORK — Bruce Brown scored 13 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Brooklyn Nets to a 127-118 win over the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night.
The Nets had five players score in double figures. James Harden recorded his sixth triple-double with the Nets, finishing with 29 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists. He ranks second in franchise history, one behind Jason Kidd.
Kyrie Irving added 21 points as Brooklyn extended its winning streak to seven games and improved to 21-12. The Nets swept their regular-season series against Sacramento, which has lost eight in a row.
De’Aaron Fox led the Kings with 27 points.
Despite leading for much of the game, the Nets led by a point (110-109) after Fox hit a 3-pointer midway through the fourth quarter. But, in a little more four minutes, the Nets went on a 14-1 run to put the game away.
On a star-laden squad, Brown played the role of closer. Brown, who has filled in for the injured Kevin Durant at power forward, knocked down two 3-pointers from in front of the Kings’ bench and added a jump shot for good measure.
Warriors 114, Knicks 106: At New York, Stephen Curry welcomed fans back to Madison Square Garden with another big night in the building, scoring 37 points and leading the Golden
State Warriors to a victory over the New York Knicks.
Curry, who owns a 50point game and a tripledouble in the arena, returned from a one-game absence to make the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 3:38 left. He scored 26 points in the second half and added six rebounds and six assists.
This performance came in the first NBA game at Madison Square Garden with fans since the Knicks beat Detroit last March 8, days before the season was suspended as the coronavirus was about to begin pummeling New York.
Julius Randle went from the high of his first All-Star selection to the low of getting thrown out in the final seconds after picking up his second technical foul. He had 25 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
Mavericks 110, Celtics 107: At Dallas, Luka Doncic hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 0.1 seconds remaining
— the Dallas sensation’s second go-ahead 3 in the final minute — and the Mavericks avoided a fourthquarter collapse in a victory over the Boston Celtics.
The Celtics trailed by 11 points with three minutes to go before Jaylen Brown put them in front in the final minute with a short jumper. Doncic answered with a 3 before Brown pulled Boston even at 107-107 with another bucket. Boston’s desperation inbound pass hit the rim.