Tiger Woods of the USA in action during the pro-am prior to the start of the WGC-HSBC Champions at Sheshan International Golf Club on November 3, 2010 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
Tiger Woods thanked his fans and fellow golfers for a touching gesture on Sunday in his first words since his frightening one-car crash last week that left him with a shattered right leg.
The golf legend tweeted for the first time since his Feb. 23 accident, sharing his gratitude after golfers, fans and maintenance staff all wore his signature red polo and black pants in homage to him at Sunday's WGC-Workday Championship in Florida.
"It is hard to explain how touching today was when I turned on the tv and saw all the red shirts," he wrote. "To every golfer and every fan, you are truly helping me get through this tough time."
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Golfers including Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Jason Day, Patrick Reed, Tony Finau and Scottie Scheffler all paid tribute to Woods on Sunday by wearing his trademark ensemble.
The tweet marked the first comments from Woods, 45, since his team issued two statements last week via Twitter updating on his condition. Woods underwent surgery on his right leg after suffering multiple open fractures in the tibia and fibula bones, as well as injuries to his foot and ankle, following a one-car rollover crash in California near Rancho Palos Verdes.
Woods' representatives wrote in an update on Feb. 26 that he was "recovering and in good spirits" after successful procedures. The statement also noted that Woods has been transferred to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
"Tiger and his family want to thank you all for the wonderful support and messages they have received over the past few days," the statement said.
Doctors inserted a rod into his leg and pins and screws into his foot and ankle to stabilize them, the chief medical officer of Harbor-UCLA Medical Center said last week.
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NBC News' medical correspondent Dr. John Torres weighed in on Woods' injuries last week, saying that it looks like a long road back for the golf superstar.
"(Woods is) going to get the usual post-recovery from a fracture, muscle atrophy, having to go back and learn how to walk again to make sure he builds up that muscle," Torres explained. "But if he had to get that ankle fused or if he had any big procedures done to that ankle, they're going to limit mobility. That's going to take longer to recover, and he truly may never get that mobility back he had before, which could definitely impact the way he plays."
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