Tiger Woods explains tooth incident

• Former world No.1 reveals all on accident
• Says cameraman at skiing event knocked out tooth
• ‘Even breathing hurt’ says 14-time major winner

Speaking ahead of his first event of 2015, Tiger Woods has explained the mystery surrounded the photos that emerged of him last week missing one of his front teeth.

The former world No.1 was in Italy supporting girlfriend Lindsey Vonn during a skiing tournament when he was snapped with what appeared to be missing tooth, below.

Predictably, social media lit up with speculation as to what might have been behind the gap in the 14-time major winner’s grin. However, ahead of this week’s Waste Management Open in Phoenix, Arizona, the 39-year-old explained the innocuous accident on the pistes in detail.

“There are two different podiums in skiing,” said Woods. “When they come down from the run, the top three are always there end of the run. After every race is completed, then they move that up on the hill so all the photographers can do their deal and champagne and whatever it is out there in the middle of the run.

“Lindsey had finished up. I walked up to the top. I had my mask on so no one knew who I was, trying to blend in, because there is not a lot of brown dudes at ski races, okay?

“So that was the whole idea of why I wore the mask, and then I came up above. I was looking down, and 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. Some already finished, some are there already in the changing area.

“A dude with a video camera on his shoulder, right in front of me, kneeling, stood up and turned and caught me square on the mouth. He chipped that one, cracked the other one. And so then, you know, I’m trying to keep this thing so the blood is not all over the place, and luckily he hit the one I had the root canal on. That’s the one that chipped. But the other one had to be fixed, as well, because it had cracks all through it.”

Woods has since had dental work done to repair the damage but not before an uncomfortable flight back to the US.

“The story is about Lindsey breaking the record. That’s the story.” – Tiger Woods

“The flight home was a joke,” he added. “I couldn’t eat, couldn’t drink until fixed them, put the temporaries on. I couldn’t have anything touch it. Even breathing hurt, because any kind of air over the nerve, the tooth that was still alive, was cracked.”

Asked how the photographer responsible for the incident reacted, Woods added: “He didn’t care.”

The current world No.47 admitted that he found the reaction to the incident rather bewildering.

“It’s a new world,” he said. “We need to talk about something, have to fill up space. The story is about Lindsey breaking the record. That’s the story. Every sport, you get teeth knocked out and, unfortunately, I wasn’t actually competing and got my teeth knocked out.”

When it was put to him that some people didn’t believe his version of events, Woods added: “Dude, you guys, it’s just the way the media is. It is what it is.”

Tiger Woods :: What does 2015 have in store?

As he prepares to begin his year at TPC Scottsdale this week, what do you think 2015 has in store for former world No.1 Tiger Woods? Leave your thoughts in our ‘Comments’ section below.

Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor