I stood glued to my television for five days as Tiger Woods hit awesome shot after shot, comeback after comeback and as he "owned" the 18th hole each and every day. My mother in Virgina sat on the other end of the phone and marveled at what she was seeing but each time he began to putt she would anticipate disaster. I comforted her by simply saying... "Mom don't worry about his putting, pain may throw off twisting his leg when driving and regular swings... but that same pain will make him focus in his putting." My unprofessional analysis held true. The U.S. Open handed Tiger another "major" win, and Tiger gave us not only great golf but legendary drama.
But now Tiger must have knee surgery, his season and possibly his career is over. Was it worth it if he never plays again? If He never plays again is he the best ever? Would you make such a sacrifice for such a a reward?
Woods said in a news release on his Web site Wednesday that he ruptured the ligament last summer while running near his home in Florida after the 2007 British Open.
Rather than have reconstructive surgery, he decided to manage the pain and his schedule to continue playing. But the pain continued and Woods had an arthroscopic procedure two days after the Masters in April. While recovering from that operation, the statement said, Woods sustained a double stress fracture of his left tibia.
Those injuries explain the pain that Woods could not hide as he labored toward his sudden-death playoff victory at Torrey Pines in San Diego. Often wincing and limping after hitting shots, sometimes using his driver as a makeshift cane, Woods still managed to defeat Rocco Mediate on Monday to win his 14th major championship.
“I know much was made of my knee throughout the last week, and it was important to me that I disclose my condition publicly at an appropriate time,” Woods said in the news release. “I wanted to be very respectful of the U.S.G.A. and their incredibly hard work and make sure the focus was on the U.S. Open. Now, it is clear that the right thing to do is listen to my doctors, follow through with this surgery and focus my attention on rehabilitating my knee.”
In all likelihood, that will not be until well into next season. The recovery time for major A.C.L. reconstruction can be from six to eight months. The revelation that the injury occurred last summer and will now be the focus of major surgery was the first mention of an A.C.L. problem by Woods or anyone in his camp.