Fresh injury drama for Tiger Woods

Report by Anand Datla

April 14, 2015: Just as you may have begun to believe that Tiger Woods is back on course, comes the news of another injury for the beleaguered golfer. Woods informed immediately after the Masters that he had “popped a bone,” displacing a joint at the ninth hole on Sunday at The Masters.

The incident occurred during the final round of the just concluded Masters, when Woods drove into the thick straw off the ninth fairway. As he lined up his stroke, Woods failed to notice a root that was just underneath his golf ball. As he went through his swing, the club got stuck into the root causing a bone in his hand to slip out of position.

As the pain shot through his arm, Woods let out a painful scream even as he dropped his club to the ground. It is understood that Woods forced the bone back into its rightful joint before continuing to play on in some pain.

“It definitely hurt, I didn’t know there was a tree root there. I drove my hand or drove the club straight into it. It didn’t move. But my body kept moving. I told the guys in there that there was a little joint that popped out and I was able to somehow put it back in,” he said. “Which didn’t feel very good, but at least it got back in and I could move my hand again.”

He walked on to the green and continued his round, making a bogey at the ninth to make the turn at one over for the round. But the world No.101 avoided any further slippage, riding an eagle at the par-5 13th hole, to ensure he suffered no further damage.

Despite managing only a 73 in the final round, Tiger saw reason for optimism after finishing T18 at the Masters. “Considering where I was at Torrey and Phoenix, to make the complete swing change and rectify all the faults and come here to a major championship and contend, I’m proud of that part of it,” he said. “Just wish I could have made a few more timely putts and moved up the board.”

It is expected though that Tiger will not be seen in action for a while yet. It is understood that the Players Championship or even Wells Fargo might come too early for the recovering golfer. A more likely option could be the Memorial in the first week of June. Watch this space for updates as keep track of Tiger’s progress and plans for another return to the Tour.