World No 1 Dustin Johnson and a number of PGA Tour regulars shared their initial reactions to Tiger Woods’ accident on Tuesday.
The sporting world was shocked to learn that Woods had suffered multiple leg injuries after a single-car collision in Los Angeles.
Messages of support from all corners of the globe have since poured in for Woods, who now faces a difficult road of recovery ahead.
READ: Update: Tiger stable in LA medical centre
Here’s how some of the reactions ahead of this week’s WGC-Workday Championship in Florida:
Rory McIlroy: ‘At this stage, I think everyone should just be grateful that he is here, that he is alive, that his kids haven’t lost their dad. That’s the most important thing. Golf is so far from the equation right now, it’s not even on the map at this point.’
Dustin Johnson: ‘Obviously it is a terrible situation. You never want anything bad to happen to people. Hoping for a speedy recovery. He is such a big part of the PGA Tour and what it has become today. Once he’s not playing anymore the game will miss him. But, I think he will always somehow be around and involved with the game.’
Justin Thomas: ‘It hurts to see one of my closest friends get in an accident. Man, I just hope he is all right. Just worried for his kids, I’m sure they are struggling.’
ALSO READ: Timeline: Tiger’s injury woes
Xander Schauffele: ‘Yesterday [Tuesday] was a really weird day. I think the mood was very sombre on the putting green. Everyone was sort of talking about it, everyone’s head was kind of down. It was a very gloomy day for us golfers.’
Jon Rahm: ‘I think we are still shocked that it happened. My first thought was that just over a year ago, we lost Kobe Bryant out of the blue. I’m just thankful that Tiger is still here. Hopefully he comes out of this one. Hopefully his body is still good. I just hope he can live a normal life from here on.’
