You can’t keep a good golfer down. Tiger Woods has had a lot of setbacks in his life, but the sports legend has managed to persevere.
On Tuesday, Tiger was involved in a serious, single-vehicle rollover car accident in Los Angeles, which left him with multiple leg injuries. The vehicle sustained serious damage, and Tiger was transported by ambulance to the hospital where he underwent a long surgical procedure on his lower right leg and ankle.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said on Wednesday that the incident was “purely an accident,” and that they “do not contemplate any charges whatsoever” in regards to the crash. He shared that there have been 13 accidents since last January on the same stretch of road where Woods crashed.
The accident comes just over a month after Tiger underwent serious back surgery to correct a displaced disc that was putting pressure on a nerve in his spine. At the time of his car crash, Tiger was still recovering from this procedure.
This frightening accident is the latest in a long series of challenges and adversities the golf pro has faced during his life, which include painful personal losses and his own struggles with vices and addictions. Here’s a look back at the obstacles the legendary golfer has overcome over the past 45 years.
The Death of His Father
Tiger’s father, Earl Woods, began teaching his son how to golf before he turned two. Within a few years, Tiger was considered to be a child prodigy, and Earl continued to teach, coach, manage and encourage his wildly talented son for years. Even after retiring as Tiger’s coach, he continued to support his son and travel with him to tournaments across the world.
In 1996, Earl was diagnosed with prostate cancer, which is when he really started to take a step back from actively participating in his son’s career, but never stopped coming out as often as possible to support him. Earl ended up writing two books on his experience training his son, as well as his theories on parenting and raising a talented athlete with ambition.
On May 3, 2006, Earl died of a heart attack at his home in Cypress, California, at the age of 74. A few months after Earl’s death, Tiger missed the cut for the 2006 US Open — marking the first time he’d ever missed the cut after 38 majors as a professional golfer. Tiger later admitted his poor performance was due to his painful loss.
“When I didn’t win the Masters that year, that was really tough to take because that was the last event my dad was ever going to watch me play,” Tiger said in 2020. “He passed not too long after that and, quite frankly, when I got ready for this event, I didn’t really put in the time. I didn’t really put in the practice, and consequently missed the cut pretty easily… think it was just…I was not prepared to play and still dealing with the death of my dad.”
