A comment by broadcaster Mark Roe about injury-plagued Tiger Woods has caused a stir during the first round of the Open Championship in Scotland.
“If you look at their eyes, you have to think they’re taking a lot of painkillers to deal with the pain,” Roe said when announcing The Open’s featured groups on Thursday.
It’s unclear whether Roe was referring to Woods’ battle with painkillers, which resulted in his DUI charge in 2017. A subsequent toxicology report found painkillers, sleep medications and an active ingredient in marijuana in his system at the time of his arrest.
Woods ultimately avoided a DUI conviction by agreeing to enter a diversion program.
Naturally, Roe’s comment was not well received.
A comment by USA Network’s Mark Roe about injury-plagued Tiger Woods caused a stir during the first round of the Open Championship in Scotland.
Tiger Woods appears in his mugshot following his arrest for driving under the influence in 2017
“This is totally crazy to say it live,” read one comment from a golf-focused account X.
“I’m not a big Tiger fan, but even if it were true, there are some things that don’t need to be said,” another commentator added.
One fan even went so far as to accuse Roe of attacking Woods because of his controversial relationship with the Saudi-backed PGA rival.
“He’s probably a secret LIV fan,” the fan wrote.
Of course, Roe’s primary duties are with Sky Network, which broadcasts the DP World Tour and PGA, so it’s unlikely the English broadcaster is in any way targeting Woods for the Saudis.
Since nearly losing his right leg in a car accident in 2021, Woods has played sparingly, focusing on majors while resting his 48-year-old body during less prestigious tournaments.
Knee surgeries, a fused ankle and a microdiscectomy are just some of the medical procedures that have kept Woods on his feet as he approaches age 50.
“Some days I feel really good,” he said in April. “Other days, not so much.”
Woods’ injury history began with a pair of procedures aimed at removing a benign tumor, scar tissue, a cyst and fluid from his knee, but quickly escalated as the veteran Nike pitchman began facing structural problems with his bones and joints.
Remarkably, Woods rebounded from his arrest in 2017 and briefly appeared poised to reclaim his throne atop the PGA Tour.
Tiger Woods to apply cream to his leg in 2023 after multiple surgeries on the limb
He won the Tour Championship in 2018 and the Masters the following season, all while golf fans marveled at his new form.
But the good times couldn’t last.
In 2021, he underwent a fifth microdiscectomy and a month later was involved in a single-vehicle crash near a tournament in Los Angeles. Woods, the driver and the only person injured in the crash, rolled his SUV before suffering serious leg injuries.
Doctors even considered amputation before finding a way to keep Woods intact.
“I’m very lucky, very lucky,” Woods told a crowd in February 2022. “As a lot of you know, I didn’t know if I was going to have my right leg or not. So to be able to still have my right leg here is huge. I still have a lot of issues with it, but it’s mine and I’m very thankful for that.”
He made his comeback at the 2022 Masters, where he limped noticeably on his way to 47th place.
Woods has since undergone a subtalar fusion procedure to “treat his post-traumatic arthritis” in his fractured ankle.