By Tim Stelloh -
NBC News
Golf star Tiger Woods will “never” play the sport full time again after he was seriously injured in a car accident this year, although he still hopes to “play a tournament here or there,” according to an interview published by Monday in Golf Digest magazine.
Comparing the sport to climbing the highest mountain in the world, Woods said that after previous back surgery he had to “climb Mount Everest one more time,” adding: “I had to, and I did.
I don't think I have the body to climb Mount Everest, and that's fine.
I can still play golf. "
[Crashed due to speeding: Tiger Woods was driving 40 miles over the limit when he crashed in February]
Woods, 45, fractured the tibia and fibula in his right leg in an accident on February 23 in suburban Los Angeles.
Woods was traveling more than 80 miles per hour (130 kilometers per hour) when he lost control of the Genesis SUV and crashed into a tree.
There was no sign that he was impeded, authorities said, and no charges were filed.
Woods, who has won 82 tournaments in a 25-year career, including five Masters championships, was charged with drunk driving in 2017. Shortly after, he checked into a clinic for prescription drug abuse.
Tiger Woods watches his shot on the fourth hole during the final round of the PNC Championship golf tournament in Orlando, Florida, on December 20, 2020.Phelan M. Ebenhack / AP
Authorities believe Woods tried to hit the brakes but accidentally stepped on the gas in the February crash.
The SUV was going 75 miles per hour (120 kilometers per hour) when it hit the tree and was thrown.
Woods faced the possibility of an amputation after being transferred to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, Golf Digest reported.
[Tiger Woods thanks on Twitter for the solidarity he received after the accident he suffered]
At one point, Woods wasn't sure "if he was going to leave the hospital with one leg," he told the magazine, adding that he still has "a long way to go" to rehabilitate his leg.
"I haven't even gotten halfway there," he clarified.