Tiger Woods Speaks Out for the First Time Since Horrific Car Accident: Rehab is ‘More Painful Than Anything I Have Ever Experienced’

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Rehabbing from career-threatening injuries has become a familiar place for Tiger Woods. Some of those injuries have been self-inflicted, others are the result of being a tenaciously driven professional athlete.

His latest, a serious one-car crash occurring in Southern California Feb. 23, left Woods hospitalized for nearly a month, and many golf analysts questioning if the global superstar will ever return to the sport professionally. At the time of the car accident, seeing Woods compete at the April Masters was already in doubt as he recovered from a microdiscectomy, his fifth back procedure.

“This has been an entirely different animal,” Woods told Golf Digest’s Daniel Rapaport of his post-crash injuries. “I understand more of the rehab processes because of my past injuries, but this was more painful than anything I have ever experienced.”

For the first time, maybe ever, golf appears to be secondary for Woods, who wouldn’t answer about potentially returning to the game.

“My physical therapy has been keeping me busy,” he told Rapaport. “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.”

According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Woods appeared to be speeding when he crossed to the wrong side of the road, eventually striking a tree at more than 70mph. Woods’ injuries included open fractures to both his tibia and fibula bones in his right leg, which required immediate surgery at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.

At 45-years-old, Woods has 82 PGA Tour wins and 15 Major championships on his stat sheet. While his return to golf is still very much in doubt, watching Phil Mickelson win the PGA Championship at age 50 last weekend likely serves as additional motivation.

“I have had so much support from people both inside and outside of golf,” Woods said. “Which means so much to me and has helped me tremendously.”