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THE PGA Tour without Tiger Woods was always inevitable simply because of age. His mangled right leg from his SUV flipping down a hill on a wide highway through the coastal suburbs of Los Angeles only brings him closer.
Golf wasn’t ready on Wednesday, February 24, 2021, to contemplate the future of its biggest star after the 10th and most complicated surgery on Woods, 45. There was more relief that he was alive.
“Listen, when Tiger wants to talk about golf, we’ll talk about golf,” said Commissioner Jay Monahan at the World Golf Championships in Florida. “When you are going to overcome what he needs to overcome, I believe that the love of all our players and of all those who are here, will manifest itself in a big way and throughout the sports world. I think he will feel that energy and I think that’s what we should be focusing on. “
Woods made clear what he is facing with an update posted early Wednesday on social media by his team that described the “lengthy surgical procedure” at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.
Related Story: Tiger Woods Seriously Injured In Accident On Steep Los Angeles-Area Highway
Anish Mahajan, the medical director, said Woods broke the tibia and fibula in his right leg in several places. Those were stabilized by a rod in the tibia. He said a combination of screws and pins was used to stabilize additional injuries to the ankle and foot.
Four previous surgeries were performed to repair ligaments in the left knee. This is the first major trauma to the right leg. Woods has had five lower back surgeries in the past seven years. The most recent was in December, a microdiscectomy to remove a pressurized disc that was pinching a nerve.
“I would say, unfortunately, that it is very, very unlikely that I will ever be a professional golfer again after these injuries,” said Dr. Michael Gardner, chief of orthopedic trauma at Stanford Medical Center. “His age, his multiple back problems, this will be a very long road ahead if he decides to try and return to his previous level of golf.”
Can golf do without the player singularly responsible for its growth?
His decisive victory at the 1997 Masters sent media interest in golf skyrocketing. More than the first player of black heritage to wear a green jacket, he won at a more prolific rate than anyone in history. The timing was impeccable, as the PGA Tour negotiated a television deal that sent the awards skyrocketing.
Woods won his first tournament when he was 20 years old at the 1996 Las Vegas Invitational, where the total purse was $ 1.65 million. At this week’s World Golf Championships, first place alone is worth $ 1.82 million. (AP)
