Tiger Woods's Scary Leg Scar Is the Result of a Severe Car Crash From 2021

At the end of another disappointing season, Tiger Woods missed the cut at the Open Championship. Of course, Tiger's life is about more than which golf tournaments he qualifies for, which is why he was back on the golf course just a few days later following his son.

Tiger was spotted at Oakland Hills Country Club following his son as he competes in his first U.S. Junior Amateur. This is not the first time Tiger has followed his son, but it's the first time many have seen him without the leg sleeve he's been wearing for several years. Now, many want to know exactly what happened to Tiger Woods's leg.

As his unsleeved leg reveals, Tiger has a pretty massive scar on his right leg. That scar is the result of a February 2021 car crash that left him with an open fracture that was so severe that Tiger said doctors contemplated amputating it.

"There was a point in time I won't say it was 50/50 but it was [expletive] near there that I was going to walk out of that hospital with one leg," he told Golf Digest. "Once I [kept it], I wanted to test and see if I still had my hands."

The scars for Tiger's various surgeries only make it even clearer how severe the injury was. He may not be back to the kind of peak form he was in during his prime, but it seems miraculous that Tiger has even returned to golf at all given how severe the injuries he faced were.

In fact, it was clear that Tiger was in trouble from the moment news about the car crash first broke.

Although the crash crash may have marked the end of Tiger's prime, he was already facing a cascade of injuries and surgeries even before the car crash.

After the car crash, he underwent several additional surgeries to repair breaks to both his tibia and fibula. Both leg bones were stabilized by a rod, and injuries to the bones in his foot were stabilized by a combination of screws and pins.

After the crash, Tiger spent three weeks in the hospital.

Xander Schauffele, who was partnered with Tiger during the Open Championship, said that he was just happy the legend was still playing at all.

“I’m just happy he’s playing golf. He’s only playing major championships [so] he’s making it as hard on himself as possible, and I know he’s hard on himself too," Xander said.

"I think he’s just learning," he continued. "He’s got to learn a little bit more about his body, what he can and can’t do. I’m sure he’d like to prep more at home if his body would allow it.“As a tour pro now, I kind of know what goes into it and what needs to be done to play at a high level. If your body is not letting you do it, it’s just frustrating. I’m sure he’s trying to figure that out.’’