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Tiger Woods says his career as a full-time golfer is likely over
Tiger Woods' days as a full-time PGA Tour pro are probably over.
While this might not be surprising to many, given the severity of the injuries he suffered in a single-car accident last winter, it's still a bit jarring to hear the admission coming from the legend himself.
"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 in an exclusive interview with Golf Digest. "You practice around that, and you gear yourself up for that. I think that’s how I’m going to have to play it from now on. It’s an unfortunate reality, but it’s my reality. And I understand it, and I accept it."
The 45-year-old made the comments in his first in-depth interview since the accident in February, and he made it clear that nine months later, he's still not ready to play golf at all, let alone full-time.
"I don’t have to compete and play against the best players in the world to have a great life," he said. "After my back fusion, I had to climb Mount Everest one more time. I had to do it, and I did. This time around, I don’t think I’ll have the body to climb Mount Everest, and that’s OK. 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. 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."
Woods also revealed some details about the injuries he suffered when he lost control of his vehicle near Los Angeles on Feb. 23. He had comminuted open fractures on the tibia and fibula in his right leg (meaning the bone broke into two or more fragments). He spent three weeks at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and feared he might lose his leg.
"There was a point in time when, I wouldn’t say it was 50/50, but it was damn near there if I was going to walk out of that hospital with one leg," he said.
Woods said that after he went home, he spent three months in a hospital bed before progressing to a wheelchair, then crutches. He said that his father's teachings as a former member of the military helped him deal emotionally with the extended rehabilitation.
"I just shortened up the windows of, ‘Oh, this is gonna be nine months of hell,’ to ‘It’s just two or three hours,’" he said. "If I can repeat these two to three hours at a time, next thing you know, it adds up, it accumulates into weeks, months and to a point where here I am, talking to you and walking into a room."
Woods said he is "not even at the halfway point" in his rehab. "I have so much more muscle development and nerve development that I have to do in my leg," he said. "At the same time, as you know, I’ve had five back operations. So I'm having to deal with that. So as the leg gets stronger, sometimes the back may act up. … It’s a tough road."
He will make his first public appearance since the accident at this week’s Hero World Challenge, a 20-man tournament in the Bahamas that benefits his foundation.
It is still unknown when he will take part in a PGA Tour event again, but Woods' legacy as one of the great players in golf history is secure even if he doesn't. His résumé ranks among the most impressive in the history of the sport. His 82 wins on the PGA Tour are tied with Sam Snead for the most all time. He won 15 majors (second to Jack Nicklaus' 18), including The Masters five times (also second to Nicklaus' six).
Known as one of the greatest closers in golf history, Woods is 14–1 when entering the final round of a major with at least a share of the lead. He also holds the record for the greatest margin of victory in a major, which he set when he beat Miguel Ángel Jiménez and Ernie Els by 15 strokes in the 2000 U.S. Open.
Woods says he still has that competitive urge, but he sounds content with his place in golf history.
"Obviously, when I get in the gym, and I get flowing, and the endorphins get going, I want to go, go, go," he said. "That’s how I’ve been able to win so many tournaments. But then again, everyone reminds me: ‘At what cost? Look at you now.’
"Pre-accident, I was what? Ten surgeries. That’s just the wear and tear of doing my sport, of just trying to push it to win everything I possibly can. To win every single tournament I played in, I would do everything I possibly could. Like any sport, there’s a cost to it. There’s a cost of doing business, and unfortunately, for sportsmen and sportswomen, injuries are a part of it."
You can read the entire Woods interview here.
