As the year went on, more similarities emerged between the two accidents. With the unfortunate anniversary right around the corner, Fox Nation has showcased the comparisons between Woods and Hogan with its new special, Long Drive Back: Tiger Woods and Ben Hogan.
Fox & Friends Weekend co-host and former ESPN host Will Cain steers the story with special contributions from Rocco Mediate, the USGA’s Mike Trostel and Fox News Channel’s Bill Hemmer.
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“My concern with Tiger’s injury first was can he be like, hanging out with his kids anymore? Is he going to be able to walk? Golf was like, who cares?” said Mediate, the six-time PGA Tour winner who famously lost to Woods in a playoff at the 2008 U.S. Open. “Has he not given us enough? Right? Has he not given us enough? And everyone was like, ‘When’s he gonna come back and play again?’ In the meantime, he was almost dead. They’re worried about when he’s gonna play again.”
“It is eerie how similar these two stories are,” added Hemmer.
The special can be streamed now on Fox Nation. Not sold yet? Here’s a preview.
“I’m lucky to be alive and to still have the limb.”
Tiger Woods addressed the media for the first time on Tuesday, a few days before the first round of his Hero World Challenge gets underway later this week.
After his car accident in February, the severity of Woods’ injuries couldn’t be understated. Seemingly everything in his lower left leg was shattered, and many questioned if he’d ever walk again.
“I’m lucky to be alive and to still have the limb. I’m very grateful that someone upstairs was taking care of me … (amputation) was on the table.”
The conversation is no longer about if he’ll ever walk again, but if he’ll ever play again. He touched on that possibility, and if he’ll ever be in a field on the PGA Tour down the road.
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“As far as playing at the Tour level, I don’t know when that’s gonna happen. I’ll play a round here and there, a little hit-and-giggle, I can do something like that.”
Golf fans saw the worst and the best of Tiger Woods the last time the 15-time major champion teed it up in an official professional tournament (not counting the PNC Championship with his son, Charlie).
Woods, a five-timer winner at Augusta National Golf Club, entered the final round 11 shots behind eventual champion Dustin Johnson and proceeded to do the unthinkable on multiple occasions.
A lot has happened over the last year both on and off the golf course for Woods, and his future sure looks a lot different today than it did on that roller coaster Sunday.
Tiger Woods was driving at an excessive speed before he crashed his vehicle in February, but authorities don’t know if he was conscious when he lost control of his vehicle that day, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department announced Wednesday.
Sheriff Alex Vilanueva said Woods was traveling more than 82-mph in a 45-mph zone and instead of braking was actually accelerating prior to impact, according to data received from the black box recorder of Woods’ loaner Genesis SUV.
Woods will not be cited for a traffic violation, said Villanueva, who received permission from Woods to release the crash investigation details.
The famed golfer broke bones in his right leg during the crash Feb. 23 in Rolling Hills Estates, south of downtown Los Angeles. He underwent surgery and announced on Twitter March 16 that he was recovering from home after being released from the hospital.
One of those experts is Jonathan Cherney, a former police detective who walked the scene after the crash. He said it was “like a classic case of falling asleep behind the wheel, because the road curves and his vehicle goes straight.”
Instead of staying with his downhill lane as it curved right, Woods kept going left, struck the eight-inch curb of the median, hit a large wooden sign, kept going through the median, then went into opposing traffic lanes and off the road before going through extensive vegetation, hitting a tree and rolling over.
His vehicle traveled an estimated 400 feet after leaving his lane and hitting the median. If he had been conscious, the theory is that there would be some evidence of braking or steering, the experts said. There were no skid marks on the road, Villanueva said. Even with anti-lock brakes, experts said there could be faint skid marks. After striking a curb and hitting a large sign in the median, the theory is that a driver would try to correct the error and get out of the emergency by driving back onto the road and braking.
Woods, 45, instead kept going and going in a fairly straight direction with no signs of slowing down. He then told first responders that he didn’t remember how the accident occurred and didn’t remember driving.
The sheriff’s department also did not seek blood evidence from him, saying he appeared lucid at the scene of the crash and that there were no signs of impairment to warrant a blood examination. Villanueva first stressed that the crash was “purely an accident” while his department also emphasized that the road Woods had been driving on was known for accidents and speeding.
After obtaining the data, Villanueva offered some clarification on March 17 when he said there were no “obvious” signs of impairment. He then went on to talk about “lessons learned” and said, “I can tell you this: We do need more drug-recognition experts within the department.”
Drug-recognition experts (DRE) are law enforcement officers trained to recognize signs of impairment that are not obvious. After a crash, they go through a 12-step process to evaluate a driver for impairment and can request a blood examination. No DRE was used in the Woods case because Villanueva said then that it wasn’t necessary.
“We can’t just assume that somebody’s history makes them guilty,” sheriff’s deputy John Schloegl told USA TODAY Sports March 2.
In 2009, Woods was cited for careless driving after crashing into a tree and fire hydrant outside his mansion in Florida. He was found unconscious at the scene and a witness then said Woods had been prescribed the sleep medication Ambien and the painkiller Vicodin, according to a police report.
In 2017, he was found asleep at the wheel in Florida and arrested for drunken driving. A toxicology report later showed he had Ambien, Vicodin, THC and other medications in his system. He checked into a clinic after that to get help dealing with medication for pain and a sleep disorder. He pleaded guilty to reckless driving.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Wednesday the cause of Tiger Woods’ February car crash has been determined and the investigation has concluded, but he needs Woods’ permission to release the report.
California law restricts access to full crash reports to only certain involved parties.
Woods, who suffered broken bones in his right leg, announced March 16 on Twitter that he was back home. Woods’ agent, Mark Steinberg, didn’t return a message from USA TODAY Sports seeking comment.
“You have an accident and you have deliberate acts,” Villanueva said on a Facebook livestream session in response to a question from USA TODAY Sports. “It’s an accident, OK. We’re reaching out to Tiger Woods to be able to release the report itself, and nothing has changed from what we know and what we learned throughout the course of the investigation. And everything we did turned out to be accurate.”
The sheriff otherwise has not released detailed findings from his department’s investigation into the crash Feb. 23 in Rolling Hills Estates, south of downtown Los Angeles.
Villanueva’s response Wednesday differed from what he said about the crash investigation on March 17.
“Yes, we’ll have the full thing released, and we’ll do a full press conference and that, because I know there’s going to be a lot of questions and we’ll pick it apart,” Villanueva said then.
Forensic car crash reconstruction experts differ with Villanueva on describing crashes as accidents simply because they are not “deliberate.” For example, drunk-driving crashes could be considered “accidents” in a broad sense because they are not deliberate. By their narrower definition, true accidents are rare because crashes typically have real causes, such as negligence of the driver, even if it’s not on purpose.
In this case, forensic experts say the evidence suggests Woods was not conscious when he left his lane and kept going in a straight line before crashing. Instead of staying with the downhill road as it curved right, he went straight over the curb in the median to the left, hit a wooden sign and kept going in a straight line into opposing traffic lanes before leaving the road, hitting a tree and rolling over.
Jonathan Cherney, an accident reconstruction expert and former police detective who walked the scene, told USA TODAY Sports it was “like a classic case of falling asleep behind the wheel, because the road curves and his vehicle goes straight.”
There were no skid marks on the road, Villanueva said. Instead, Woods’ Genesis SUV kept going straight for several hundred feet. Woods later told sheriff’s deputies he couldn’t remember how the crash occurred and didn’t remember even driving.
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After the crash, the sheriff’s department executed a search warrant to obtain data from the vehicle’s black box, which could show how fast he was going and any braking or steering activity. Asked by USA TODAY Sports on March 17 what he learned from the black box, the sheriff replied, “We learned a few things, which is important,” but he didn’t elaborate.
He said then there were no “obvious” signs of impairment by Woods on the crash scene that day. He went on to talk about “lessons learned” and said, “We do need more drug-recognition experts within the department.” Such drug-recognition experts (DREs) are trained officers who evaluate drivers for signs of impairment that aren’t obvious. DREs then can request a blood examination for evidence of drug use.
Woods was not evaluated by a DRE that day, and his blood was not examined because the deputies determined Woods was lucid and said it was not necessary.
Woods was found unconscious at the scene of two previous driving incidents. One was in 2009, when a witness found him snoring in his vehicle after hitting a fire hydrant and tree outside his mansion in Florida. A police report from then noted Woods had been prescribed the sleep medication Ambien and the painkiller Vicodin, according to a witness.
In 2017, police in Florida found him asleep at the wheel and arrested him on suspicion of drunken driving. A toxicology report later found several drugs in his system, including Ambien, Vicodin and THC.
Woods checked into a clinic that year to get help with medications for pain and a sleep disorder.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said that Tiger Woods did not receive special treatment from law enforcement after his crash.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said that Tiger Woods did not receive special treatment from law enforcement after he crashed his SUV last month but noted some “lessons learned” as the crash investigation nears completion in coming weeks.
Villanueva also said the golf legend showed no “obvious” signs of impairment at the scene of the crash Feb. 23, an adjective he hadn’t stressed before when discussing how Woods was evaluated that day by deputies.
The sheriff then switched to the topic of drug-recognition experts and “lessons learned from every incident.” Drug-recognition experts (DRE) are officers specially trained to detect impairment in drivers after crashes especially when it is not obvious. Woods was not evaluated by a DRE after the crash because Villanueva said then there wasn’t a need for it.
“For anybody suggesting he somehow received any different treatment than anybody else, he did not,” Villanueva said this week when asked by USA TODAY Sports for an update on the case. “I can tell you this: We do need more drug-recognition experts within the department. We need to hire more, but then again, that costs money. We need to train more. We’re going to be training with the resources we have to increase our pool of available DRE experts.
“And that’s something that obviously, lessons learned from every incident and how can we can apply what we learned to future events and to make ourselves more, a better organization and more effective?” he said. “And those are one of the things we’re going to be doing.”
Drug-recognition experts use a 12-step process to evaluate for impairment, including questioning the driver about medications, checking the eyes and vital signs, often at a location removed from the crash scene, such as at a hospital. If they think a driver is impaired with drugs, they can request an examination of the driver’s blood.
In this case, none of that happened because there was no call for a DRE by the sheriff’s department, leading forensic crash experts contacted by USA TODAY Sports to question why not, given the evidence on the scene at the time.
While it is not uncommon for crash victims to suffer head injuries and not remember the moments of impact, Woods was wearing a seatbelt and his airbags deployed. A sheriff’s deputy noted Woods had “injuries/lacerations” to his face and broken bones in his right leg but did not mention head injuries. Sheriff’s officials also described Woods as alert and “lucid” at the scene upon their arrival.
Villanueva added on Wednesday they were concerned for Woods’ health in the absence of obvious impairment or other victims.
“Our concern shifts to the humanitarian, you know life-preservation, those kinds of things, and the accident becomes secondary,” he said.
A vehicle rests on its side after a rollover accident involving golfer Tiger Woods on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021, in Rancho Palos Verdes, California (Photo: Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press)
The key time to establish the need for a toxicology report on Woods was shortly after the crash, experts said. Woods, 45, was driving on a downhill road at around 7 a.m. that Tuesday, but instead of staying with his lane as it curved right, his Genesis SUV went straight over the curb into the median and hit a sign. Then he kept going straight through the median and into opposing traffic lanes before leaving the road, hitting a tree and rolling over in Rolling Hills Estates, south of downtown Los Angeles.
He traveled about 400 feet since hitting the median, in a straight line. If he had been awake and distracted or even slightly asleep, experts said they would have expected to see evidence of his immediate reaction, such as deceleration, braking and steering back onto the road.
But there were no skid marks on the road to suggest braking, which happens even with anti-lock brakes. Instead, Woods just kept going and going in a straight line for some 400 feet despite being in the middle of an emergency. Jonathan Cherney, a crash expert and former police detective who walked the scene, told USA TODAY Sports it was “like a classic case of falling asleep behind the wheel, because the road curves and his vehicle goes straight.”
Cherney and other forensic experts contacted by USA TODAY Sports are not involved in the sheriff’s investigation.
A vehicle rests on its side after a rollover accident involving golfer Tiger Woods on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021, in Rancho Palos Verdes, California (Photo: Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press)
After the crash, the sheriff’s department executed a search warrant to obtain data from the vehicle’s black box, which could show how fast he was going and any braking or steering activity. Asked by USA TODAY Sports Wednesday what he learned from the black box, the sheriff replied, “We learned a few things, which is important.”
Before this crash, Woods was found unconscious at the wheel in two prior driving incidents. The first was in 2009, when a witness found him unconscious and snoring in his SUV after hitting a tree and fire hydrant outside his mansion in Florida. He was cited then for careless driving.
In 2017, police found him asleep at the wheel in Florida on Memorial Day. After police arrested him on suspicion of drunken driving, a toxicology report later revealed he had the sleep medication Ambien in his system, as well as other medicines, including Vicodin. Woods then checked into a clinic to get help with medications for pain and a sleep disorder. He also pleaded guilty to reckless driving.
In this case, his injuries from the crash kept him in the hospital for about three weeks. He announced on Twitter Tuesday that he was “back home.” He thanked his surgeons, doctors, nurses and hospital staff.
“I will be recovering at home and working on getting stronger every day,” Woods said in that statement.
Villanueva indicated Wednesday the investigation is almost over.
“In the next few weeks we’re going to have the entire thing completed,” he said.
“Happy to report that I am back home and continuing my recovery,” the statement read. “I am so grateful for the outpouring of support and encouragement that I have received over the past few weeks.”
Woods went on to thank the staff of doctors who have helped him throughout his recovery and finished by saying, “I will be recovering at home and working on getting stronger every day.”
During Sunday’s final rounds, players in the World Golf Championships-Workday Championship, Puerto Rico Open and Gainbridge LPGA showed their support for Woods in various ways.
Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Justin Thomas, Tony Finau, Patrick Reed, Tommy Fleetwood, Scottie Scheffler, Carlos Ortiz, and Cameron Champ rocked similar versions of his signature Sunday-red shirt and black pants. Billy Horschel had “TW” etched on his hat while Matt Kuchar, Jason Day and Bryson DeChambeau played with golf balls stamped with “TIGER.”
It is hard to explain how touching today was when I turned on the tv and saw all the red shirts. To every golfer and every fan, you are truly helping me get through this tough time.
Rory McIlroy: “It’s just a gesture to let him know that we’re thinking about him and we’re rooting for him. Obviously things are looking a little better today than they were on Tuesday, but he’s still got aways to go. He’s got a huge recovery ahead of him.”
Tony Finau: “We’ve enjoyed so many Sundays watching Tiger do his thing. Red and black, we know that’s what Tiger does on Sundays, so to just join in and just let Tiger know we’re supporting him in the best way we can. We’re still playing and we miss him out here, but it was cool just to be a part of that today.”
Sebastian Munoz: “He was my idol. He’s the reason I played golf today. It’s just a little tribute I wanted to pay to him today, just how much his life and his work have impacted my life.”
Jason Day: “Just paying respect to Tiger. Obviously we hope for the best in wishing him a very quick recovery, just wanted him to know that we’re thinking about him.”
Justin Thomas: “I think it’s just important for him to feel some kind of support. I think this shows support to him. It’s not something that’s going to happen every week, it’s not something that people are doing every day, but obviously Sunday’s a pretty special day for him and what he’s wearing and just seemed like a great chance that people had the opportunity to do it.”
Talking about a Tiger Woods comeback is in poor form one day after Woods’ horrific crash in the Los Angeles area, says Rory McIlroy.
BRADENTON, Fla. – Rory McIlroy always speaks his mind.
Sometimes to his detriment, but mostly, he gives thoughtful, wise response and never sounds like his answers are washed through a P.R. machine. He doesn’t shy from any question nor does he hide from any answer given.
He’s an emotional sort, too, so it wasn’t surprising McIlroy became a tad irritated during his conference call with reporters Wednesday ahead of the World Golf Championships-Workday Championship at The Concession Golf Club when a couple questions irked him.
“He’s not Superman,” McIlroy said when asked if Woods was the guy who can come back from his horrific car crash that left him with multiple, serious injuries to his right leg, ankle, and foot.
“He’s a human being at the end of the day,” McIlroy continued. “And he’s already been through so much. 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.”
Woods, 45, was involved in a single-car rollover crash early Tuesday morning in the Los Angeles area. He was awake and responsive after surgeons at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center operated on his right leg; he shattered the tibia and fibula and suffered significant injuries to his right foot and ankle. A rod was inserted to stabilize his tibia and a combination of screws and pins were used to stabilize the ankle and foot.
McIlroy, 31, also was miffed about a query wondering if there was any talk about paying tribute to Woods during the tournament.
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“Like you say ‘pay tribute to him.’ He’s not gone,” McIlroy said. “He’s been in a very bad accident. We’re very lucky that he’s still here. I feel like we should pay tribute to him every day for being on the PGA Tour and what he’s done for golf.
“It’s always great when he plays at a tournament or is out here because it gives that tournament an extra dimension that it usually doesn’t have. We’re all sort of heading towards that day that Tiger wasn’t going to be a part of the game. I’m not saying that that was soon. Before this accident, he was rehabbing a back injury and hopefully going to come back and play this year. It’s inevitable that one day he won’t be a part of it, and that’s going to be just something that the game of golf and the Tour is going to have to deal with and adapt to.
“Obviously, hopefully, he comes back and is able to play, but if he’s not, I think he’ll still be a part of the game in some way, whether it’s obviously his design business and his foundation and hosting golf tournaments. It may be the end of seeing the genius at work with a club in his hand, but there’s still a lot of other ways that he can affect the game in a great way.”
Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy during the Challenge: Japan Skins event ahead of the 2019 Zozo Championship PGA Tour at Accordia Golf Narashino. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
As for his own game, McIlroy, the former world No. 1 and four-time major champion, hasn’t won since the fall of 2019 and is coming off a missed cut in last week’s Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club north of Los Angeles. But in his next start after missing his last five cuts, McIlroy has two wins, a second, a fourth and a tie for 12th.
“It’s funny, it’s going to sound really weird, I worked so hard the week before Riviera in that week off, but I felt so unprepared to play, if that makes sense,” he said. “I stood on the range for hours a day hitting golf balls and working on my swing but didn’t play golf. Didn’t chip, didn’t putt, didn’t do any of the things that you need to do to shoot scores.
“So even though I worked hard and worked on some stuff, I feel like it’s sort of like clockwork. I have these weeks where I want to work on some things and fix some things and I try to cram everything in in the space of a week when it’s probably something that should take two or three months to iron out.
“I went to Riviera after feeling like I worked hard but was completely unprepared because I had sort of neglected sort of all other aspects of the game. I think I learned a couple of things last week. I was thinking way too much about the golf swing last week, even when I was out on the course.
“So I need to play with more freedom and I need to be able to swing away.”
Tiger Woods’ broken leg and ankle aren’t the first injuries the 15-time major winner faced. Most of his pain has been in his back and legs.
Tiger Woods is no stranger to injuries – he won the 2008 U.S. Open with a twice-fractured left leg, for example. His back problems have derailed his career for the better part of a decade, and in 2017 Woods was unsure if he would ever be able to play again. There have been surgeries on top of surgeries, mostly to his knees and back.
It’s entirely premature to speculate exactly how his severely broken leg and crushed ankle after Tuesday’s car crash in California will impact any hopes that he returns to golf, but it is worth looking back at the obstacles Woods has overcome.
Also worth noting, Woods plays his cards very close to the vest, and at times he has been coy about providing private information on injuries or medical procedures. These injuries listed below – compiled from past Golfweek reporting and media reports such as this one on PGA.com – are just those that are known.
