Tiger Woods has provided an update on his health and revealed the progress he has made on a programme to manage his medication.
Former world number one Woods returned to the headlines for all the wrong reasons in June when footage emerged of him being arrested after being found asleep at the wheel of his car on a Jupiter, Florida, freeway. Subsequent video footage of his arrest was viewed by millions.
Woods was initially thought to be have been arrested for drink driving, but later revealed he had blown zero on the test. However, he was arrested for Driving Under Influence (DUI)—something he blamed on taking regular medication incorrectly.
The 14-time major winner immediately announced he would be seeking professional and medical assistance to get his medication back on track.
Woods said in a statement after his arrest: “I understand the severity of what I did and I take full responsibility for my actions. I want the public to know that alcohol was not involved. What happened was an unexpected reaction to prescribed medications. I didn’t realize the mix of medications had affected me so strongly.
Woods’ Twitter update on health
“I would like to apologise with all my heart to my family, friends and the fans. I expect more from myself too.”
Having spent time working with doctors in the weeks following his arrest, 41-year-old Woods has given an update via social media to let fans and media know of his progress.
“I recently completed an out of state private intensive program,” he wrote on his Twitter feed. “I will continue to tackle this going forward with my doctors, family and friends. I am so very thankful for all of the support I’ve received.”
Four back surgeries—the most recent of which was in January—have kept Woods on and off the course for the last four years. But his most recent attempt at a comeback ended prematurely when he pulled out of an event in Dubai in February this year.
The 79-time PGA TOUR winner had only made a return to the game competitively in December 2016, promising his body had never felt as good in years.
The last of Woods’ 14 major wins, a figure just four short of Jack Nicklaus’ all-time record, came more than nine years ago in the 2008 U.S. Open.
He won only 14 more tournaments since that U.S. Open success. It is now almost four years since we last saw Woods, the last time was the WGC Bridgestone Invitational in 2013.
Will we ever see Woods win again? There’s no doubt golf’s legion of fans would love to see him victorious again. But only time will tell if Woods can get his body back to play competitive golf, let alone tournament-winning golf.