Tiger Woods has thanked his fellow PGA Tour players for their “touching” gesture of wearing his signature red and black colours during a series of tournaments over the weekend.
The golfer, who previously said he was in “good spirits” after being moved to a second hospital in Los Angeles for treatment following a car crash last Tuesday, added that his fellow competitors and fans were aiding in his recovery.
He said on Twitter: “It is hard to explain how touching today was when I turned on the TV and saw all the red shirts.
“To every golfer and every fan, you are truly helping me get through this tough time.”
Tony Finau, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Thomas and Patrick Reed were among the golfers wearing red shirts and black trousers at the final round of the WGC-Workday Championship, held at The Concession in Bradenton, Florida.
Elsewhere, Phil Mickelson wore the same colour combination during the final round of the Champions Tour event in Tucson, Arizona.
And Swedish star Annika Sorenstam, widely regarded as one of the best female golfers in history, emerged from retirement to play at her first LPGA Tour tournament in 13 years – the Gainbridge LPGA in Orlando – and also wore red and black.
The gesture extended to the Puerto Rico Championship, where the grounds crew wore the colours, which have been synonymous with Woods during a career boasting 82 career PGA victories – including 15 majors.
But the severity of his injuries, coupled with the fact that he was already side-lined following a fifth back operation, means his professional golfing career is now hanging in the balance.
A host of fellow golfers wore Tiger Woods’ signature red and black for play on Sunday. File pic via AP
The 45-year-old’s car hit a curb, then a tree, before rolling several times on the border of Rolling Hills Estates and Rancho Palos Verdes in a grizzly incident on Tuesday morning.
Woods remains in hospital at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he is recovering from surgery to treat multiple fractures on his right leg.
Police officers look over Woods’ damaged car after the accident. Pic: AP
Other golf stars have expressed their shock since the incident and have sent their well-wishes – though the eventual winner at the WGC event in Bradenton on Sunday was unable to don the red and black.
Collin Morikawa’s clothing sponsor tried to provide him a red shirt with their brand logos, but it did not arrive in time because of weather delays.
Carlos Ortiz and (below) Rory McIlroy playing over the weekend
Instead, Morikawa used his post-round interview on live TV to thank Woods for being an inspiration on the way to carving out a spot on the PGA Tour.
He told NBC: “Tiger means everything to me, and yes he had the crash, and thankfully he’s all right and hopefully he has a quick and great recovery.
“But I don’t think we say ‘thank you’ enough. So, I’m going to say thank you to Tiger. Sometimes you lose people too early. Kobe [Bryant]. I lost my grandpa about a month ago. So, thank you guys.”