Los Angeles, Feb 24: The sheared-off front of the wrecked SUV told part of the story, and the officers on the scene filled in the rest. Tiger Woods was lucky to be alive, they said, thanks to modern safety technology and a big dose of good luck. Alive and well, no. But alive nonetheless.
The good news — no, make that the BEST news — is that Woods seems on track to survive after being pried Tuesday from the SUV he wrecked in Los Angeles.
That’s despite injuries that are so severe, including multiple open fractures of his leg that he will be convalescing a long, long time.
The other piece of good news was that there was no immediate sign that Woods was impaired at the time of the crash — a significant bit of information, of course, because of his past.
The bad news is that the career of the world’s greatest golfer, at least on the game’s biggest stages, is probably over.
Coming back from his recent back surgery to play again at the age of 45 was always going to be a problem.
Woods himself said previously that Father Time remains undefeated and that his return to top level play wasn’t guaranteed.
Combine that with the gruesome injuries from his crash and now it borders on impossible.
This isn’t Ben Hogan, coming back from a near fatal car accident in 1949 to win the US Open next year.
Hogan was nine years younger, hadn’t been through multiple back and knee surgeries, and didn’t have to try to swing his driver hard enough to hit it 350 yards to keep up with others.
Woods was fragile enough to begin with and there were already questions about whether he could return to play at a high level. He might share Hogan’s determination to overcome everything in front of him, but in the end there’s only so much he can do to mend his broken body.
That means Woods will never break the record of 18 majors held by Jack Nicklaus. (AP)
