Fire crews had to use the jaws of life to get Woods from the vehicle after it rolled over.
Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the highs and lows of the 15-time major winner and former world number one.
5. Death of his father
The biggest influence on Woods’ career was undoubtedly his father Earl, a retired US Army lieutenant colonel who named his son Eldrick but gave him the nickname Tiger after a Vietnamese soldier he had befriended during the war. Woods was imitating his father’s swing aged just six months and was devastated by Earl’s death in 2006. After a nine-week lay-off, Woods returned to action in the US Open and unsurprisingly missed the cut in a major for the first time as a professional.
6. Personal scandal
Woods had enjoyed a meteoric rise to stardom but his fall from grace was equally spectacular, a car crash in November 2009 eventually leading to admissions of infidelity and Woods taking an “indefinite break” from golf. During an excruciating televised apology in February 2010, Woods revealed he had undergone 45 days of “inpatient therapy receiving guidance for the issues I’m facing”. He returned to action in the Masters and had to endure a public dressing down from Augusta National chairman Billy Payne. “It is not simply the degree of his conduct here that is so egregious,” Payne said. “It is the fact that he disappointed all of us and, more importantly, our kids and our grandkids. Our hero did not live up to expectations.”
7. Injuries
Understandably, 2010 was the first time in his professional career Woods did not win a single tournament and – although he won five times in 2013 to get back to world number one – he started just 24 events in the next four years as the pain from his back often left him grimacing or forced to withdraw from events entirely. Spinal fusion surgery in 2017 was the last throw of the dice and proved successful, although Woods still had issues in cold weather and when forced to play more than 18 holes in a day
8. DUI
Just weeks after his spinal surgery, Woods was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence when he was found asleep at the wheel of his car and later pleaded guilty to reckless driving. It emerged that Woods had five prescription drugs in his system at the time and he spent 11 months on probation. During his return to action in November 2017, Woods revealed the depth of his physical struggles. “I’ve been in bed for about two years and haven’t been able to do much,” Woods said. Woods was hospitalised following a crash on February 23, 2021 when he had to be cut from his vehicle using the jaws of life in Los Angeles.