![Tiger Woods reacts to the crowd on on the walkway from the green while waiting for playing partner Phil Mickelson to putt in after after Woods sunk a 60-foot birdie putt at the 17th hole of the TPC Sawgrass Players Stadium Course on March 24, 2001, in the third round of The Players Championship. Woods went on to win the tournament two days later in a Monday finish. [Bob Self/Florida Times-Union]
Tiger Putt Reaction](https://sportsnaut.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/15675698.jpg?w=788&h=444&crop=1)
Tiger Woods’ focus remains on the first step of his recovery from a car accident in February. Well, the first step on his own.
“My physical therapy has been keeping me busy. I do my routines every day and am focused on my No. 1 goal right now: walking on my own. Taking it one step at a time,” Woods told Golf Digest on Thursday.
Woods, 45, sustained serious injuries after crashing his SUV on Feb. 23 in the Los Angeles County city of Rancho Palos Verdes. He is recovering from open fractures to his tibia and fibula, which needed a rod inserted to aid healing, and also foot and ankle injuries that needed screws and pins placed to aid in stabilization.
“This has been an entirely different animal,” Woods said. “I understand more of the rehab processes because of my past injuries, but this was more painful than anything I have ever experienced.”
On April 7, the L.A. County sheriff attributed the main causes of the crash as excessive speed and Woods’ failure to negotiate a curve in the road. A sheriff’s spokesman also said that because there was no evidence of the vehicle braking, Woods likely pressed the accelerator accidentally rather than the brakes.
Woods was not cited in the crash.
Woods played three events in the 2020-21 PGA Tour season, most recently the 2020 Masters that was delayed until November, as he was recovering from back surgery. His career earnings are listed at more than $120 million.
He was hospitalized for almost a month after the automobile crash.
–Field Level Media