“I didn’t know if I could get out of bed” – Tiger Woods on his 2017 comeback in Dubai after injury
Whether battling benign tumors at the start of his career in 1994 or a devastating car accident in 2021, Tiger Woods' injury forced him to struggle with his gameplay. However, whenever he was forced to opt out of a tournament, the American emerged with much more force.
Woods' decades-long golf career has been filled with struggles, injuries, pain, happiness, controversy, and eye-popping success.
Tiger Woods underwent leg surgery in 2008, and the following year he won a major tournament. His remarkable performance earned him the ESPY Sportsman of the Year award.
His leg injuries and back injuries often made headlines in the newspaper. In 2015, Woods underwent back surgery, forcing him to stay away from golfing for 16 months. The 47-year-old finally returned to play in 2017.
Back then, he sat down to talk about his injuries and struggled with Peter Dawson in his exclusive interview on the terrace of one of the world's tallest buildings, the Burj Al Arab.
The fifteen-time major champion talked about his comeback, which was slated to take place in Dubai in 2017. Woods said:
"I miss playing here. It's been a while since I've been fit enough to play."
He went on to talk about his injury. Tiger said:
"It was more than brutal because there were times when I physically didn't know if I could get out of bed. And then there were times when I needed help just to get out of bed. It was one of the hardest things to wrap my head around. I had a lot of great people around me to help me."
A timeline of Tiger Woods's injury
Tiger Woods is no stranger to injuries. He has been dubbed the greatest golfer of all time. However, there has never been a bed of roses for him.
Woods is still struggling with his injuries. His career is fading as Woods could not compete in the tournaments. He has missed 16 major events since 2008 due to his injuries.
Woods's first injury came to light in 1994, when the star golfer had two benign tumors removed from his leg.
In 2002, he again had off-season surgery to remove benign cysts from his left knee. The struggle continued, and in 2007, things worsened after Woods ruptured his ACL, but later that year, he won his 13th major championship.
He skipped surgery in 2007, which came at a price in 2008 when the golfer had arthroscopic knee surgery. Towards the middle of the year, he had surgery to repair his ACL and went on hiatus to recover.
In 2013, back pain brought him to his knees after hitting a fairway wood on the back nine.
He went on to finish T2. https://t.co/VdcJ4rIo8N
The struggle didn't stop there, as Tiger Woods ruptured his Achilles while jogging in December of 2008. He struggled with leg injuries, while in 2010, Woods injured his neck and had to withdraw from The Players Championship.
His knee and Achilles continued to take a toll on him as he struggled throughout 2011. In 2013, Woods tweaked his back at The Barclays.
During 2014–15, the injuries became severe, and Woods had two microdiscectomy surgeries and took a break from golf for 18 months. In 2017, he finally had successful back surgery and returned to the game.
In 2009, he lost to Heath Slocum by just one shot @TheNTGolf. https://t.co/P6bqjoX2r0
But the happiness faded in 2019 when a neck strain forced Woods to opt out of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. In 2020, he had his fifth back surgery, and in early 2021, Tiger Woods witnessed a near-to-death experience after his car rolled over while driving on the hills of Los Angeles.