Car crash leaves golfer Tiger Woods hospitalised Suffered multiple leg injuries

LOS ANGELES: US golfer Tiger Woods was hospitalized on Tuesday after a car crash in which his vehicle sustained “major damage,” the Los Angeles County Sheriff´s department said.

Woods, the sole occupant, was removed from the wreckage by firefighters and paramedics, and suffered “multiple leg injuries,” his agent said in a statement to US media. “He is currently in surgery and we thank you for your privacy and support,” said Mark Steinberg. Woods was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

The roll-over crash near Los Angeles did not involve any other vehicles. Television images showed the car lying on a patch of grass off the road, with its hood badly damaged.Woods, one of the most successful golfers of all time, has won 15 major golf championships.

He recently underwent his fifth back surgery, and said he was uncertain if he will be able to play at the upcoming Masters, which he last won in 2019. According to celebrity website TMZ, 45-year-old Woods was in the area for his annual Genesis Invitational golf tournament at the Riviera Country Club.-AFP

According to CNN, Woods suffered “multiple leg injuries” and is currently in surgery, his agent Mark Steinberg told Golf Digest.Tiger Woods was already struggling from previous injuries he sustained over the years before Tuesday’s car crash in California. CNN’s sports reporter Andy Scholes said that if he suffered additional injuries in this crash, “we could be looking at the end of Tiger Woods’ golf career. Here’s just hoping he’s okay.”

“I interviewed him after he won the 2019 Masters, you know, it was one of the greatest comebacks in sports history if not the greatest, and after I interviewed him, you know, he struggled to get up out of that chair,” Scholes said.

“Playing four rounds of competitive golf was very tough for Tiger Woods this late in his career,” he added, saying, “He’s in the ninth inning of his career at this point. 45 years old.”

Scholes also noted that Woods had a history of taking painkillers following a number of surgeries that he had to undergo. In 2017 he was found by police pulled over on the side of the road asleep in his car because he had taken “a lot of painkillers.”

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement that Woods’ car “sustained major damage” and that the “Jaws of Life” were required to get him out of the vehicle. He was then transported to a local hospital.Los Angeles County Fire Department inspector Henry Narvaez described Woods’ injuries as “moderate to critical” to reporters. L.A. Sheriff’s Department Lt. Michael White provided more information on the crash and Woods’ status:

The Los Angeles Times cited law enforcement sources who said Woods was allegedly “traveling at a high rate of speed and lost control of the vehicle before crossing the center divider.”