Tiger Woods shares personal message after car crash and surgery

Golf legend thanks fans and several PGA tour players who wore the iconic red shirt and black trousers to honour the recovering golfer

Tiger Woods thanked his fans for helping his recovery (AP)

Tiger Woods thanked fans for helping him get “through this tough time” in his first personal message since the golfing champion was seriously injured in a car accident.

“It is hard to explain how touching today was when I turned on the tv and saw all the red shirts. To every golfer and every fan, you are truly helping me get through this tough time,” he said in the tweet.

Woods was referencing several PGA tour golfers who wore his trademark red t-shirt during the WGC-Workday Championship on Sunday.

It was the first direct message from Woods following a statement shared to his Twitter account on Friday saying he was in good spirits as he moved to Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre for follow-up procedures to his right leg.

The 45-year-old fractured his leg and had to be cut out of the wreckage after his car collided with a kerb and flipped several times.

Investigators said Woods would have likely died in the crash but managed to survive as his car’s interior stayed mostly unimpaired.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Woods was wearing a seatbelt at the time and there wasn't any evidence that he was impaired by drugs or alcohol.

"A reckless driving charge has a lot of elements into it, this is purely an accident,” Mr Villanueva said.

As Woods recovered in hospital, several PGA Tour players wore his iconic final-round combination of black pants and a red shirt.

Golfers wearing the outfit included Tony Finau, Jason Day, Tommy Fleetwood, Cameron Champ, Scottie Scheffler, Min Woo Lee and Sebastian Muñoz.

“We’re very lucky that he’s still here,” McIlroy said to golf.com. “I feel like we should pay tribute to him every day for being on the PGA Tour and what he’s done for golf.”