Tiger Woods' misfortunes: operations, divorce, addiction, arrest...
The American golf star has been lauded for his extraordinary talent but has also received criticism for his personal problems off the golf course.
Tiger Woods' life has always been one of extremes. His tremendous talent for his chosen sport has occasionally been in sharp contrast to some of the difficulties which have accompanied him off the golf course. He's been lauded and criticised in equal measure for much of his career. While his triumphs and sporting successes dominated pages of the sports press his many infidelities which resulted in one of the most costly divorces in sporting history with his then-wife Elin Nordegren after it emerged he had multiple affairs with a string of mistresses as well as hiring prostitutes.
Tiger Woods' car accidents
Something similar happened years later with his new partner, the Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn. Woods eventually admitted to his addictions to sex and alcohol and decided to admit himself to a rehabilitation clinic to overcome his problems. He notoriously crashed his car into a fire hydrant and a neighbour's tree near his Florida mansion while drunk; Nordegren smashed the window open with a golf iron to find him unconscious at the wheel. In May 2017, he was arrested after police found him asleep and under the influence of prescription drugs inside his car.
All of that prompted him to lose lucrative sponsorship deals with Nike, Gatorade, Gillette and EA Sports. Without forgetting the physical problems which required numerous trips to the operating table: five back operations and several others on his troubled left knee, problems with his elbow, collar and Achilles tendon. Tiger Woods is only 45 and hopefully will be able to rebuild his left after this latest accident.