New photo shows Woods’ injured right leg without leg sleeve

“If you weren’t impressed with Tiger Woods’ return to golf, visual proof of the damage incurred to his right leg might change that.”

On Monday, NBC Golf posted a photo of Tiger Woods on its website with such a comment. In this photo, Woods is seen smiling next to a young man, who is presumed to be one of the players that participated in the junior golf competition that his son, Charlie Woods, competed in last week.

Wearing black shorts and sandals, Woods was standing in the photo with the injury on his right leg openly seen, which was incurred from a car accident. Woods, who was injured in a car accident in February last year, returned to the Masters Tournament in April this year, the first official competition to attend in one year and four months, and he wore long pants during the tournament. He wore shorts during practice rounds, but he had his right shin covered with sleeves every time.

In the photo released by the golf channel, Woods has a massive scar on the front side of his right shin with the inside slightly dented, showing a visible difference from his good left leg. Fans who saw this picture found it hard to believe that he could perform in such a condition. In fact, last year the media reported that the shin bone “broke into pieces,” suggesting it was much worse than a fracture that might jeopardize his career.

In May, Woods withdrew from the game after Round 3 in the PGA Championship and did not compete in the US Open, which was closed on Monday. He is expected to compete in the British Open in July, which will be the last major tournament this season.


Dong-Wook Kim creating@donga.com