Golf legend Ben Hogan was once also seriously injured in a violent car wreck eerily similar to Tiger Woods’ crash on Tuesday — and came back to win six more majors.
Hogan, who died in 1997 at the age of 84, nearly lost his life in February 1949 when a Greyhound bus smashed into his black Cadillac while he was driving with his wife in Texas, according to the Golf Channel.
The crash left Hogan with a broken collarbone, fractured ribs, a broken ankle, a double fracture to his pelvis, and deep contusions to his left leg.
It took nearly one hour for emergency personnel to extract him from the wreckage.
His wife, Valerie, escaped with minor injuries, in large part because the golf great shielded her with his body just moments before the impact.
Doctors at the El Paso hospital where Hogan was taken feared he wouldn’t survive his injuries — but Hogan did recover and was back on the green in under a year.
Hogan played in pain for the rest of his life but continued a stellar career that has him ranked as one of golf’s greatest players with 64 total Professional Golfers Association Tour victories, according to his PGA Tour profile.
On Tuesday, Woods suffered injuries to both legs and was rushed into surgery after his SUV rolled over in Rancho Palos Verde in Los Angeles County.
Despite similar injuries in the two crashes, Hogan was 36 at the time of his crash, while Woods is 45 and has struggled to regain his former dominance in recent years.
