Tiger Woods returns to Florida to recovery from car crash

Tiger Woods is back at home in Florida to resume his recovery from career-threatening leg injuries he suffered when his SUV ran off a road and down a hill in the Los Angeles suburbs last month.

“Happy to report that I am back home and continuing my recovery,” Woods said in a tweet posted Tuesday night. “I am so grateful for the outpouring of support and encouragement that I have received over the past few weeks.”

Woods was injured Feb. 23, two days after the Genesis Invitational at Riviera. He was on his way to a television shoot for GolfTV a little after 7 a.m. when his SUV crashed into a median, rolled over and ended up on its side near a steep road known for wrecks, authorities aid. He had to be pulled out through the windshield.

He had a lengthy surgery that day at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center for shattered tibia and fibula bones of his lower right leg in multiple locations. Those were stabilized with a rod in his tibia. Additional injuries to the bones in his foot and ankle required screws and pins.

He was transferred to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for follow-up procedures.

Woods thanked the medical staff at both hospitals for taking care of him.

“I will be recovering at home and working on getting stronger every day,” Woods said in the statement.

A dozen or so players at the Workday Championship in Florida wore black trousers and red shirts — the Sunday colours of Woods for his record-tying 82 victories on the PGA Tour — in the final round.

Woods has stayed in touch through text messages, sending them to Bryson DeChambeau ahead of his Bay Hill victory and to Justin Thomas, one of his closest friends in golf, ahead of his victory in The Players Championship on Sunday.

Rory McIlroy suggested in an interview with Jimmy Fallon that Woods might be headed home to Florida.

“He’s doing better,” McIlroy said. “I think all the guys have reached out to him. Hopefully if things go well over the next week or so, he might be able to get home and start recovery at home, which would be great for him. See his kids, see his family.

“But yeah, he’s doing better. And I think all of us are wishing him a speedy recovery at this point.?

McIlroy and Thomas are among those who live near Woods in Jupiter, Florida.

___

More AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Doug Ferguson, The Associated Press