The catastrophic disaster of Tiger Woods in Los Angeles set the spotlight on a series of low-budget documentaries that featured golf’s biggest star.
Woods was on his way to the Rolling Hills Country Club on Tuesday for a photo shoot at 8 am for a TV series aimed at GolfTV and the streaming service Discovery +. But a few minutes after 7 am, Woods lost control of the luxury SUV he was driving, a 2021 Genesis GV80, hitting a curb and a “Welcome to Rolling Hills Estates” sign on the central partition, falling several times in trees and shrubs near Hawthorne Boulevard, police and fire officials said.
Woods, who had to be pulled out of the wrecked SUV, fractured his leg, broke his ankle and was unable to walk.
Woods was scheduled to meet with prominent Hollywood director Peter Berg and NFL stars Drew Brees and Justin Herbert for the second day of a two-day shoot for a documentary-style series called “Tiger Woods: My Game” by according to two people familiar with the production who were not allowed to comment. NFL players and the production team waited about two hours on Tuesday for Woods to appear, unaware that he had been in an accident, one of those people said.
The TV giant Discovery usually provides transportation to the stars of its productions, arranging professional drivers to deliver talent to and from sets and locations, according to an executive close to the company who was not authorized to comment.
That was the arrangement for this week’s filming at Rolling Hills Estates, people close to the production said.
It is not clear why Woods did not choose to have a driver to take him to the location of the film, but Woods is known in golf circles for preferring to drive alone to events, often with caddy Joe LaCava in the passenger seat.
“This is not an issue for Discovery – it is an issue for Tiger’s team,” said Fiona McLachlan, Discovery’s senior vice president for sports communications in London. McLachlan declined to comment further.
Tiger Woods’ agent Mark Steinberg did not respond to requests for comment.
Woods has been involved in two previous car accidents. On Tuesday, he was behind the wheel of the same SUV he drove to the Genesis Invitational golf tournament when hosting the event at the Riviera Country Club last weekend, a source said. Although Discovery offers a car service, it is not uncommon for people to drive to film during the pandemic, he said.
Workers collect the wreckage next to the SUV that was driven by Tiger Woods.
(Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press)
Berg, a prolific Hollywood director and producer, was directing the episode for his Los Angeles-based company, Film 45, for New York media company Discovery, which owns HGTV, TLC, Animal Planet, GolfTV, Golf Digest and Discovery + streaming service.
Film 45 is owned by Endeavor, the Hollywood giant that also owns the prominent talent agency WME.
“We filmed with Tiger yesterday and he was charming, generous and full of life,” wrote Berg on Tuesday night in an Instagram post. “He was professional and [expletive] impressive. Today he was unable to make the set and we are a heartbroken team … He brought a lot of joy to all of us and his life force will take him through it. “
Berg’s Film 45, which he launched in 2015, creates non-scripted content for cinema, TV and digital platforms. Previous projects include “Being Serena”, a documentary about tennis star Serena Williams, and “Garth Brooks: The Road I’m On”, a four-part special about the country artist, according to the company’s website. His company also creates high-end TV commercials and other branded entertainment.
Berg is best known for “Friday Night Lights”, “Patriot’s Day” and “Ballers” from HBO.
Initially, the Woods project was conceived on a much larger scale, with acrobatics and a larger budget, but over time the size and scope were modified. Instead, Discovery decided on a documentary, a “fly-on-the-wall” production with non-union teams to give it a more intimate feel, people familiar with the matter said.
If it were a union project, a Teamsters driver could have driven Tiger Woods and any other talent or crew for the film’s location, said Lindsay Dougherty, organizer of Teamsters Local 399, who represents drivers, casting directors and location managers.
Endeavor and Film 45 declined to comment on this story.
The series came out of a four-year deal worth an estimated $ 35 million, which Discovery signed with Woods in November 2018.
At the time, Discovery classified the agreement as “a strategic partnership” between Discovery, PGA Tour, GolfTV and Woods. The cable programming giant, which has several international sports channels, said it would “collaborate with Woods on a wide range of programming, content creation and narrative opportunities that will offer fans an authentic and regular view of life, the mind and the performance of the ultimate game icon. “
“The partnership with GOLFTV will reveal Woods like fans have never seen him before, providing an unparalleled opportunity to get closer to Woods’s practice routines, preparation and life on the road through a variety of programming shown exclusively on GOLFTV,” said the 2018 release
Almost two years ago, Discovery purchased Golf Digest from magazine publisher Condé Nast. The footage was expected to generate content for Golf Digest, as well as GolfTV and Discovery +, insiders said.
“Everyone at Discovery wishes Tiger a speedy recovery and our thoughts are with him, his family and his team right now,” Discovery said in a statement.
Woods was recovering from back surgery, so he didn’t play golf during this week’s photos. Instead, the informed source said Woods was giving golf advice and tips “on the field” to other celebrities. A second person familiar with the production called it “golf master class”.
On Monday, Woods was filmed with actor David Spade, actress Jada Pinkett Smith and former NBA star Dwyane Wade.
Editors Sam Farmer and Anousha Sakoui contributed to this report.