Los Angeles police officers say champion golfer Tiger Wood had no recollection of his accident and was not aware of just how badly he had been injured.
Woods suffered serious injuries to his right leg on Tuesday (local time) when the vehicle he was in crashed in suburban Los Angeles.
He was alone in the vehicle and had to be extricated from it, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said in a statement.
No other cars were involved in the wreck that injured the golfer.
Woods underwent surgery to his leg and is now conscious and recovering.
LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Woods did not comment on the crash at the scene.
Sheriff's Deputy Carlos Gonzalez arrived first at the scene and said Woods had no idea how serious his condition was.
"I don't think he was aware of how gravely he was injured at the time. It could be a mixture of adrenaline, it could've been shock," Mr Gonzalez said.
"I've seen collisions that didn't look as serious where the occupants were injured much more severely.
"I think that's just a testament to the fact that he was wearing a seatbelt, airbags worked as intended and modern vehicles are much more safe than they ever used to be."
An event data recorder in the vehicle Woods was driving, sometimes known as a black box, will help investigators determine what happened to cause the crash.
Woods was driving a Hyundai Genesis SUV borrowed from a golf tournament.
He will not face charges over the crash.
AP
