Tiger Woods appeared at a press conference ahead of the Phoenix Open sporting a full head of teeth following a visit to a dentist to replace the two he had damaged in an accident in Italy last week.
Woods gave a detailed account of the incident, which involved an accidental clash with a video camera which took place while he was celebrating his girlfriend Lindsey Vonn’s record 63rd World Cup ski race victory on January 19. He revealed that one tooth had been chipped and another cracked, requiring both to be replaced.
Woods said when the race was finished, the podium presentation was moved up on a hill for the photographers. He went to the top of the hill, behind the cameras. “All the camera guys are below me on their knees or moving all around, trying to get a picture because she’s hugging people, saying congratulations to the other racers as they are coming down,” he said. “Some already finished, some are there already in the changing area. Dude with a video camera on his shoulder right in front me, kneeling, stood up and turned and caught me square on the mouth.”
Woods said the flight home to Florida was the most painful of his life. “I couldn’t eat and couldn’t drink until I had temporaries put on,” he said. “I couldn’t have anything touch it. Even breathing hurt, because any kind of air over the nerve was painful, as the tooth was still alive.”
Woods is playing his first PGA Tour event since he missed the cut at the US PGA Championship in August.