Tiger Woods on Crutches: 5 Major Champions Who Weren't Slowed by Major Injuries
The sports world is aghast today after hearing that Tiger Woods is in a cast and on crutches, less than a month before the US Open commences.
Even though Woods declared that he expects to play in our National Open three weeks from tomorrow, his arrival on the first tee in just 23 days does seem to be in doubt.
Now we don't think of golf as much of a contact sport, but injuries certainly do occur, be they golf-related or not.
And throughout the game's history there have been a few special cases where players triumphed crippling injuries to reclaim greatness.
Each of these men should be something of an inspiration to Woods, who already once overcame a major leg injury to claim the 2008 US Open, but will be looking to do so again, starting next month at Congressional in Maryland.
No. 5 (Tie) Jose Maria Olazabal
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Injury: Arthritis
Major Title: 1999 Masters
Two years after winning the Masters in 1994, Spain's Jose Maria Olazabal was so hampered by a foot injury that he could barely walk 18, let alone play 72 holes over four days.
He didn't play in any of the majors during the 1996 PGA season, but soon rebounded the next season to claim the European Order of Merit.
By 1999 he was completely healed, having won stops on the European Tour in each of the previous seasons.
And at that year's Masters he shot a brilliant 66 on Friday to pull into the lead. On Sunday, JMO overcame a tough 38, to play the back nine at three-under, best Davis Love by two strokes and earn a second Green Jacket.
No. 5 (Tie) Vijay Singh
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Injury: Back, Neck
Major Titles: 1998, 2004 PGA, 2000 Masters
Singh is well known for not reaching his peak until his late 30s, something that should inspire Tiger Woods...even if the two aren't the best of friends.
But part of the reason why Singh didn't blossom until his near "twilight years" was due to the neck and back injuries that hampered him during the mid-1990s.
And although those ailments—which stretched down to his legs—soon slowed him down in his mid-40s, he managed to claim a trio of Majors despite the pain.
No. 4: Gary Player
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Injury: Cancerous Cyst, Kidney/Bladder Blockage
Major Title: 1974 Masters, British Open, 1978 Masters
Just a few months after winning the PGA Championship at Oakland Hills, Gary Player underwent a pair of major surgeries in early 1973, one to remove blockage between his kidney and bladder, the other to remove cyst behind his left knee.
Despite playing virtually no golf for three months, Player—always the model of physical health—was the first and second round leader at that year's US Open, where he finished 12th.
The next season, in addition to an eighth at the US Open and a seventh at the PGA, the 38-year-old won both the Masters and the British Open.
And just for good measure, in 1978 at 42 years of age, Player won his third Green Jacket by overcoming a seven-stroke deficit on Sunday, to claim his ninth major title.
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No. 3: Ken Venturi
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Injury: Exhaustion, Back
Major Title: 1964 US Open
Venturi leaps over Player, Olazabal and Singh for two completely unrelated physical ailments.
After being the hot prodigy of the sport—nearly winning the 1956 Masters as a 25-year-old Amateur then claiming a handful of titles in the late 1950s and 1960—Venturi's career was sidetracked by a car accident that did noticeable damage to his back.
After missing the Masters for the first time in his professional career, Venturi somehow caught fire in May and June of 1964 and at the halfway mark of the US Open (ironically enough for Tiger Woods at Congressional) was within six strokes of the lead.
In terrible heat he shot a 66 in the third round (this was understandably the last US Open to be played with a 36-hole finisher on Saturday), nearly collapsing several times along the way, then shot a ridiculously steady final round 70 to win by four strokes.
No. 2: Lee Trevino
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Injury: Back Injuries...Being struck by lightning!
Major Title: 1984 PGA Championship
The Merry Mex was already one of the greats in the game by 1975—having won two US Opens, two British Opens and a PGA—when he came to the Western Open at Butler National GC.
There, during a rain storm, he convinced fellow pros Jerry Heard and Bobby Nichols to wait on the 13th green for the weather to pass. It didn't and all three were struck by lightning.
Although Heard's game suffered the most by the freak accident, Trevino later claimed that the lightning had sapped fluids from his spine and made it terribly painful to play.
Nevertheless, the stubborn man refused to give up the game, played through the pain and almost a decade after the lighting incident, the 45-year-old tore apart the Shoal Creek course in Alabama (he was the first man in PGA Championship history to shoot four rounds in the 60s) to claim his second PGA title and sixth major title.
No. 1: Ben Hogan
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Injury: Back Injuries...Being struck by a Greyhound Bus!
Major Title: 1951, 1953 Masters; 1950, 1951, 1953 US Open; 1953 British Open
Pretty much the patron saint of golfers (perhaps all athletes) that recovered from major injury to dominate their sport, Ben Hogan was actually better after being in a car accident that doctors told him would prevent him from ever walking again.
Hogan returned within a year to win the 1950 US Open at Merion, despite the fact that he could barely stand, had his legs fully wrapped in bandages and was in constant pain.
He played through all those aches for the next decade or so, won six more majors and completed perhaps the greatest single year in the history of the game, winning all three majors he played in during the 1953 season.
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