TIGER WOODS has admitted he is devastated at missing the Masters after his left leg was shattered in an horrific car crash.
The American legend, 45, who won for the fifth time at Augusta two years ago, texted close pal Justin Tomas, saying: “It’s starting to kick in now – wish I was there.”
Woods’ car swerved across the road and rolled over several times before coming to a halt in California in February, and police officers said he was lucky to be alive.
He broke both bones in his lower left leg in two places and suffered a serious ankle injury, and was in hospital in Los Angeles for three weeks before being allowed to return to his home in Florida.
World No2 Thomas, one of the favourites to join Woods as the owner of a green jacket this week, also said he has been amazed at how quick some of his fellow players have been to write Tiger off.
Thomas said: “The first week or two, I tried to just close my ears because it’s just astonishing the things people say.
“They hear one thing and they start saying this happened and, ‘oh my gosh, did you hear this?’
“And I’m just like it’s not true. Wait to hear it from him or someone on his team.
“Don’t just repeat stuff just because you heard a rumour – this is a serious situation.
“And even if Tiger’s injuries are more serious than we hope, it’s not fair to speculate about his future.
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“God forbid something terrible came out about the accident, because it would definitely get exaggerated.
“I found it hard to keep hearing what was being spread around when it clearly wasn’t true.
“You need to be respectful and understand that you don’t need to be throwing around false claims or anything like that.
“Just it will come out when it comes out kind of thing.”
Thomas has a better knowledge of Woods condition than most but did not want to give details, saying it was up to Tiger to decide how much people needed to know.
He added: “I went over and saw him a couple times last week. I try to go over whenever I’m home and see him.
“He’s bummed he’s not here playing practice rounds with us, and we hate it, too.
“I would say just say the thing for Tiger him is he’s unfortunately been through rehab processes before.”
Thomas continued: “I remember when I was out a month and a half with my wrist problem I felt so down because I had never been out because of an injury.
“And I remember the people that reached out to me and checked on me, see how I was doing.
“I didn’t need a call every single day, but you appreciate the occasional ‘Hey, how is it going, want to see how you’re feeling’.
“It meant a lot because it’s easy to get down on yourself when you’re out for a little bit.
“That’s just what I want to do for him, is just be like, dude, I’ll do anything you want. If you need me to help out with your kids, I can do that.
“If you’re craving McDonald’s and you want me to bring it over, dude, I don’t care, I’m here for you and I’ll help out however I can.
“But he’s been good. We are fortunate that the basketball is going on, and we can watch that and other sports like we would any normal time.
“Yeah, it’s been good to see him and hang out with him.”
Rory McIlroy has also been to see Woods, and was encouraged by the 15-time Major winner’s condition.
McIlroy explained: “I went over and spent a couple hours with him, which was nice.
“It was good to see him in decent spirits and actually not as bad as you might think.
“You look at the car and you see the crash, it’s like, you think he’s going to be in a hospital bed for six months.
“But he was actually doing better than that.
“He’s fully focused on the recovery process, and I feel like he’s mentally strong enough to get through that.
“And once he does, and the broken bones heal, he’s just got to take it step by step.
“I know he’d love to be here, and I’m sure he’s going to put everything he has into trying to be ready to play here next year.”
