Investigators recover black box data from Tiger’s vehicle
Detectives are looking at data from the socalled “black box” of Tiger Woods’ SUV to get a clearer picture of what occurred during the Southern California rollover crash that seriously injured the golf star, authorities said Wednesday.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said traffic investigators executed a search warrant Monday to retrieve data from the device from the Genesis SUV that Woods was driving.
There was no immediate information regarding what was found in the black box, Deputy Trina Schrader said in a statement.
The 2021 GV80, made by the Hyundai luxury brand, is likely to have a newer version of event data recorders nicknamed “black boxes” after more sophisticated recorders in airplanes. The devices store a treasure trove of data for authorities to review.
Woods suffered a serious leg injury when the SUV he was driving went off a Los Angeles County road and rolled over on a downhill stretch known for crashes. Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Woods was not drunk and was driving alone in good weather when the SUV hit a raised median, went across oncoming lanes and rolled several times. The crash injured his right leg, requiring surgery.
Deputies will review data from the black box to “see if they can find out what was the performance of the vehicle, what was happening at the time of impact,” said Villanueva, who previously faced criticism for almost immediately calling the crash “purely an accident.”
During a live social media event on Wednesday. the sheriff said the new data could provide more information on the cause of the accident.
“And that’s all it is, and we’ll leave it at that,” he said.
California law allows law enforcement to seek search warrants for data recorders that were involved in motor vehicle crashes that result in death or serious bodily injury. Law enforcement must show that the recorders could have evidence of a felony or misdemeanor in the crash, and detectives must limit their review of the data to information directly related to the offense.
TOUGH STRETCH FOR FOWLER >> It was only two short years ago when Rickie Fowler arrived at the Arnold Palmer Invitational ranked No. 7 in the world.
But since then, Fowler’s game has been in a steady downward spiral. He came out of last year’s event at Bay Hill ranked No. 27 after a T18, portending a more extended struggle.
Then came swing changes during the PGA Tour’s shutdown amid the coronavirus pandemic.
However, the swing changes have not held up well under the rigors of PGA Tour events. Fowler has played in 19 events since the Tour resumed last June. He has eight missed cuts during that span, posted zero top 10s and only three top 20s as he has plummeted to 65th in the world.
“Everyone that’s played really at all, especially at some sort of a high level, completely understands that golf is up-and-down,” Fowler said ahead of this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational. “You take advantage of the times where you’re playing well and ride those out, because you know that it’s not always going to be that way.
“There are times where it’s going to go down and you’re going to have to fight through it. Unfortunately, this one’s been a little longer than I would like it to have been.”
Fowler is coming off a T20 at the Genesis Invitational in his last start, which followed a pair of missed cuts.
“Things are starting to head the right way,” he said. “It’s a matter of time. We’ll just keep kicking the darn door and she’ll fall.” HATTON READY TO DEFEND
MAIDEN PGA TOUR TITLE AT BAY HILL >> Tyrrell Hatton added a red cardigan to his closet with his win at last year’s Arnold Palmer Invitational and returns to Bay Hill this week knowing he must work on his putting if he wants to add a Green Jacket to his wardrobe at next month’s Masters.
Hatton, the final winner on the PGA Tour before the COVID-19 shutdown, missed the cut at Augusta National last year and his best Masters finish in four starts was a share of 44th place in 2018.
“I need to figure out how to putt at Augusta, if that is ever going to be happen, to be honest,” the Englishman said on Wednesday in Orlando, Florida. “Normally putting is a strong point for me and I’ve never putted well there, sadly. So obviously hoping that changes this year.”
Last year at Bay Hill, Hatton delivered a gritty performance during which he held off a strong field and even stronger winds to pick up a maiden PGA Tour title five days before the PGA Tour halted for three months because of the novel coronavirus.
But Hatton did not let the hiatus impact his game and has since enjoyed an impressive stretch that includes a number of top-10 finishes and European Tour victories at last October’s BMW PGA Championship and January’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.