BRADENTON, Fla. – Word of Tiger Woods being in a single-car accident Tuesday quickly spread over The Concession Golf Club as players geared up for the World Golf Championships-Workday Championship.
The mood on the sun-splashed day quickly soured.
“I’m sick to my stomach,” an emotional, teary-eyed Justin Thomas said during a video conference with reporters. “You know, it hurts to see one of your, now one of my closest friends, get in an accident. Man, I just hope he’s all right. Just worry for his kids, you know. I’m sure they’re struggling.”
Woods, 45, was transported by ambulance to a hospital with multiple leg injuries and was in surgery Tuesday afternoon, according to his agent, Mark Steinberg. In a statement, the L.A. County Sherriff’s Department said police responded to a “roll-over traffic collision” at approximately 7:12 a.m. local time on Hawthorne Boulevard in Rancho Palos Verdes. Later, the Sherriff’s Department confirmed the injuries were not life threatening.
Woods, recovering from his fifth back surgery, a microdiscectomy procedure Dec. 23 that removed disc fragments causing nerve damage, was in California as the tournament host for the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades. On Sunday, he told CBS’ Jim Nantz that he was going to having an MRI soon that would determine his next steps in the recovery when he got the results.
On Monday, Woods started a two-day content shoot for Golf Digest and GolfTV at Rolling Hills Country Club. Woods gave on-course lessons to a number of celebrities, including David Spade and former NBA star Dwayne Wade. Woods, however, did not show up for Tuesday’s shoot.
Here’s how players at The Concession reacted to the news: