Tiger Woods Confirms What We All Suspected About His Future With Golf
As fans, we have been through it all with Tiger Woods. The pro golfer has made a name for himself in the industry as one of the best (if not the best) golfer ever to live. While some parts of his personal life have been messy and tough to watch play out (like his divorce from model Elin Nordegren), there have been other parts of his personal life that have been wonderful to watch. One example was Woods playing golf with his son, Charlie Woods, who looks to be a superstar in the making.
In February, Woods made headlines again following a horrible car crash in California. The crash took place in the early morning, and Woods suffered several injuries — with his legs taking the brunt of the impact. A post on Woods' Twitter account revealed that the golfer "suffered significant orthopedic injuries to his right lower extremity" that had to be treated through "emergency surgery by orthopedic trauma specialists."
In May, Tiger opened up about the incident for the first time, revealing that it had been a long and painful recovery so far. "This has been an entirely different animal. I understand more of the rehab processes because of my past injuries, but this was more painful than anything I have ever experienced," he told Golf Digest. Now, he's talking about the impact that the injury has had on his career.
Tiger Woods will never play a full PGA schedule again
There's no doubt that Tiger Woods has faced (and conquered) obstacles throughout his career in the majors, but his most recent accident is something he might not be able to overcome as easily. In a November 29 interview with Golf Digest, the champ spoke out about his post-accident career for the first time and he didn't hold much back. "I can still participate in the game of golf. I can still if my leg gets OK, I can still click off a tournament here or there," Woods shared. "But as far as climbing the mountain again and getting all the way to the top, I don't think that's a realistic expectation of me."
Unfortunately for Tiger fans, the golfer knows that his career will never be the same as it once was. "I think something that is realistic is playing the tour one day — never full time, ever again — but pick and choose, just like Mr. [Ben] Hogan did. Pick and choose a few events a year and you play around that," Woods said. He also shared that while it's an "unfortunate reality," he knows that it's his reality. "And I understand it, and I accept it."
Woods seems to have accepted this outcome, which we assume must have been hard. But all he can do is move forward, right?
Tiger Woods feels lucky to be alive
Tiger Woods may not have had his career start winding down in the way he envisioned, but he's just grateful to be alive. In one of his first press conferences since suffering his devastating leg injury, Woods revealed that he's indeed still grateful. "I'm lucky to be alive and also have a limb,” he said in the recent conference. The golf great also shared that there was a time that he thought his leg would have to be amputated, but thanks to the hard work that he put in, he was able to avoid amputation. "Being immobile for three months. Just to lay there. I was just looking forward to getting outside," Woods told reporters (via Yahoo! Sports). "That was a goal of mine. Especially for a person who lived his entire life outside, that was a goal."
Woods is not expected to be a full-timer on the PGA tour junket but he still tries to play as often as he's able — even though his game isn't the same as it once was. "To see some of my shots fall out of the sky a lot shorter than they used to is a little eye-opening, but at least I'm able to do it again," he said. We like that mentality.
Fans are happy that Tiger is back
Fans of Tiger Woods are thrilled that he's back in the game, even though it may not be in the same capacity as it once was. In late November, the golfer shared a photo of himself sitting in a golf cart and smiling for the camera to Instagram. Woods appeared to be in his element and was in a familiar setting of a golf course. "Looking forward to a great week at Albany for the #HeroWorldChallenge," he wrote.
Within seconds, fans flocked to the comments section to welcome Woods back with open arms, including one of the biggest brands in golf, TaylorMade. "Well this just made our day," the company commented. Several other fans simply dropped a line to welcome him back. "Looking great boss!" one fan exclaimed. "Awesome to see you on your feet," another wrote. We don't know what the future holds for Woods but we're excited to follow along and see.