Tiger Woods Update: Golfer Transferred to Cedars-Sinai Hospital to Continue Recovery After Crash

Tiger Woods has been transferred to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles following a rollover crash that left the pro golfer with “significant” injuries to his legs. Woods, 45, was transferred to the medical center from Harbor-UCLA Medical Center on Thursday, two days after the crash, Dr. Anish Mahajan, interim CEO of Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, announced in a statement shared to Twitter.

“On behalf of our staff, it was an honor to provide orthopedic care trauma care to one of our generation’s greatest athletes. Harbor-UCLA Medical Center is a teaching hospital and one of only five Level 1 Trauma Centers in Los Angeles County,” Dr. Mahajan said. Mahajan explained that Woods was transferred to the new facility “for continuing orthopedic care and recovery.”

It was around 7 a.m. PT Tuesday morning when Woods’ Genesis SUV courtesy vehicle crossed over a raised median and two oncoming lanes in the Rolling Hills Estates and Rancho Palos Verdes area of California. The vehicle hit a curb and a tree before rolling over several times. During the single-vehicle crash, the windshield shattered. Responding emergency personnel had to use an ax to smash the car’s windshield and extract Woods, who was wearing his seatbelt.

Woods suffered “significant” injuries in the crash and was transported to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, where he underwent extensive emergency surgery to correct injuries to both of his legs. At the time, Mahajan said the athlete shattered both his tibia and fibula on his right leg in multiple locations, and a rod had to be placed in his tibia bone to stabilize it. Screws and pins were used to stabilize additional injuries in his ankle and foot.

It is believed that Woods has a months-long recovery ahead of him. While doctors who have treated him since the crash have refrained from providing details on the recovery, Dr. Brian Polsky, an orthopedic surgeon at the Centers for Advanced Orthopedics in Washington, D.C., said, “Unfortunately, it’s very possible that he may not physically be back to 100%.” Polsky added that “someone of that athletic level, that amount of mental strength, that focus he has, definitely adds to the potential of him returning.” As ESPN notes, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center “has a renowned Sports Medicine Institute that has catered to professional athletes and a rehabilitation program for sports-related and orthopedic injuries.”