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Tiger Woods was “not drunk” during his single-car crash on Tuesday, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Wednesday, calling it “purely an accident.”

“We can throw that one out,” he said on the issue of Woods’ sobriety.

He added that there had been no evidence of impairment when authorities arrived on the scene. Woods was conscious and able to communicate as he was being removed from the vehicle, Villanueva said on Instagram Live.

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Woods, 45, was awake, responsive and recovering in his hospital room early Wednesday morning after undergoing surgery for “significant orthopedic injuries” to his lower right leg.

Dr. Anish Mahajan — chief medical officer and interim CEO at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center — said in a statement posted to Woods’ Twitter that the star golfer had a rod inserted into his tibia to stabilize “comminuted open fractures affecting both the upper and lower portions of the tibia and fibula bone.” Screws and pins were inserted to stabilize additional injuries to the bones of the foot and ankle.

“Trauma to the muscle and soft-tissue of the leg required surgical release of the covering of the muscles to relieve pressure due to swelling,” Mahajan said.

Woods was the lone occupant of the 2021 Genesis GV80 SUV, which sustained major damage.

“The interior (of the vehicle) was more or less intact, which gave him the cushion to survive. It otherwise would have been a fatal crash,” Villanueva said Tuesday.

The portion of Hawthorne Boulevard where the crash took place just after 7 a.m. PT Tuesday is curvy and steep with signs that warn drivers to use lower gears when going downhill. The posted speed limit is 45 mph. The street also features runaway truck ramps. There have been 13 accidents on that stretch of road since January 2020, Villanueva said.

Woods, who shares the PGA Tour record with Sam Snead for most career victories at 82, was in Los Angeles to attend last weekend’s Genesis Invitational, where he presented the winner’s trophy. He was scheduled to be filming with GOLFTV and Golf Digest on Monday and Tuesday, giving on-course instruction to a number of celebrities, according to a statement from Discovery, GOLFTV and Golf Digest.

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said he was “shocked” when he got the call about the accident.

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“I kind of had to sit down and ask the same question I had asked a second time because I wasn’t sure I completely heard what I was being told,” Monahan told reporters Wednesday at World Golf Championships-Workday Championship.

Supporting Woods is the top priority right now, Monahan added.

“When Tiger wants to talk about golf, we’ll talk about golf, but I think right now the entirety of our efforts needs to be around the support,” he said. “When you’re going to overcome what he needs to overcome, I think the love of all of our players and everybody out here, it’s going to come forward in a big way and across the entire sporting world. I think he’ll feel that energy and I think that’s what we should all focus on.”

Numerous athletes, celebrities and politicians also took to social media Tuesday to express their hopes and prayers for Woods’ recovery.

Former President Barack Obama tweeted: “Sending my prayers to @TigerWoods and his family tonight — here’s to a speedy recovery for the GOAT of golf. If we’ve learned anything over the years, it’s to never count Tiger out.”

The 15-time major champion told CBS’s Jim Nantz over the weekend that he was hoping to resume more activity after the results of an MRI following back surgery in January. When asked if he would be ready in time for the Masters in April, Woods said “God, I hope so.”

Woods hasn’t played a PGA event since the rescheduled Masters in November, though he and his son Charlie participated in an exhibition event in December.

While Woods has had prior incidents behind the wheel, none have resulted in major injuries.

The first was in 2009 after Woods’ SUV ran over a fire hydrant and into a tree. This incident occurred just two days after the National Enquirer published a story alleging that Woods was having an affair. Subsequently, Woods checked into a rehabilitation clinic and stepped away from golf for five months.

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In 2017, Woods was parked on the side of the road, where the police found him asleep behind the wheel. The golfer was arrested on a DUI charge and later pled guilty to reckless driving. Woods said he had had an unexpected reaction to a prescription.

(Photo: Harrison Hill / USA Today)

Statement from the PGA TOUR on Tiger Woods.

Woods was involved in a single-car accident this morning in California and suffered multiple leg injuries. pic.twitter.com/iEx6QUiKcN

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 23, 2021

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