TAMPA — Aaron Hicks, whose girlfriend, Cheyenne Woods, is Tiger Woods’ niece, said the golfer’s family is mainly concerned with ensuring he is able to resume a normal life following this week’s serious car accident.
“I think right now, we’re trying to make sure with everything that’s going on with the surgeries and stuff, that he’s just gonna be healthy again,” the Yankees center fielder said Thursday.
“Making sure he can be a father again and being able to enjoy and run around and play with his kids is what’s important right now.”
Hicks called news of the crash “extremely scary.”
“I’ve only met Tiger one time,” Hicks said. “Cheyenne is a family member, so she wanted to make sure he was OK, and that’s what I think anybody would want.”
Woods, 45, suffered a smashed right leg and extensive injuries to his right foot in the rollover crash outside of Los Angeles on Tuesday.
Doctors at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center described Woods’ “significant orthopaedic injuries” in a statement released after his emergency surgery on Tuesday.
Cheyenne Woods and Aaron Hicks; Tiger Woods Getty Images (2)He faces a long road to recovery that includes lengthy physical therapy and more operations on his shattered leg, medical experts have said.
Hicks, who grew up playing golf in Southern California chasing some of Tiger Woods’ youth records, finished sixth in the celebrity division of last month’s Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Cheyenne Woods caddied for Hicks during the tournament.
