Tiger Woods Accident: St. Andrews Sand Tribute Sends ‘Thoughts and Prayers’ Golfer’s Way

Tiger Woods was involved in a single-car rollover crash on Tuesday morning, sparking concern throughout the golf world. A multitude of people responded and expressed hope that he will make a full recovery, including those in charge of the St. Andrews Golf Course. The historic course unveiled a touching tribute to Woods in the sand.

Photos surfaced on Wednesday morning that showed a massive, intricate design created in the sand. The Tiger Woods logo took up a large section. There was extra text underneath the logo that said “Thoughts & Prayers.” The St. Andrews account also tweeted out a supportive message on Wednesday, writing: “From all of us here at the Home of Golf, wishing Tiger a full and speedy recovery [praying hands emoji]”

The accident occurred shortly after 7 a.m. Tuesday in Rancho Palos Verdes when the Genesis SUV he was driving crossed a median and veered across two lanes before hitting a curb and a tree and rolling over several times before landing on its side off the road. Woods remained awake through the crash and spoke with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office when they responded to the scene.

Woods suffered multiple leg injuries and underwent emergency surgery. According to Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anish Mahajan, Orthopedic trauma specialists stabilized both the tibia and fibula bones by inserting a rod into his tibia and stabilized the foot and ankle bones with screws and pins. They also relieved the pressure on the muscle and soft-tissue of his leg by releasing the covering of the muscle in surgery.

Woods has a memorable history at St. Andrews, dating back to 1995 when he received an invite due to being the reigning U.S. Amateur champion. He competed with Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and John Daly in what was a very educational tournament. He finished seven over par while dealing with the unpredictable wind patterns.

Woods explained after the outing that the genius of the course was the way in which the wind can completely change it on a regular basis. There are bunkers spread out that don’t seem like they would play a factor, but the wind will change and send the ball in a wild direction. The wind also forces the golfers to make bold decisions about which clubs they use on each hole.

“It’s the home of golf. It’s history,” Woods said about St. Andrews in 2015, per ESPN. “Just go out there and see all the different shots you can play. There’s no other golf course that can honestly say that throughout the course of history that every great champion has played it. They didn’t have the Masters until 1934. You know Old Tom Morris never played Augusta National. But every great golfer has played here. That is something that no other golf course in the world can say.”