So, Tiger Woods won his 14th Major Championship and moved ever closer to Jack Nicklaus’ record - but at what cost? After 91 gruelling holes, showing obvious pain and discomfort in overcoming the challenge of Rocco Mediate, Woods has elected to have reconstructive surgery on his left knee. No wonder Woods claimed it was the finest win of his career, given the handicap he had to overcome.
The surgery brings a premature end to his season, meaning that he’ll miss the British Open, PGA Championship and of course the Ryder Cup. On his web site, tigerwoods.com, Woods announced he will undergo surgery and take time off to rehabilitate. Woods has been assured by his doctors that there will be no long term effect.
Tournament Directors and TV Rating Chiefs must be crying themselves to sleep such is the pull of Tiger and the effect on attendances and viewers (even this humble site gets more visitors over the four days Tiger is playing).
Retief Goosen is probably wishing he kept his mouth shut when he questioned the severity of the injury and agreed that Woods was probably faking it. In an effort to back track on his comments Goosen suggested he was being “light-hearted”.
The 108th US Open will be remembered for triumph over adversity while Mediate should also take a lot of credit for his sportsmanship, good humor and showing that you can challenge for honors, beyond forty. As an Englishman I am also left wondering if this was Lee Westwood’s best chance yet for Major honors, and whether he’ll ever put himself in a better position for victory.
p.s. The other English pairing of Wolstenholme and Cotter failed to show, coming last as they did, so I guess film rights and red carpets are now on hold! What was interesting though was that the story seemed to cross the pond and the pair received plenty of vocal support from the galleries. By the way, did any work get done in San Diego on Monday, or did commerce just shut down for the day?
I know the reason that Tiger has knee problems. he got married a couple of years ago, and he discovered the lounge rug. Sorry!
It’s a shame that this happened, after one of the greatest performances of all time in sports history. Tiger will be back, and he will be stronger then ever .
David – I think this might have resulted in carpet burns at worst, not cruciate ligament damage and a fracture
Ryan – Some commentators are already saying that for the unity of the group, the Ryder Cup team may be better off without Tiger ??
The Ryder Cup is about experience and teamwork. If they do replace Tiger this year, I do not expect his replacement to be a younger player, no matter how promising they appear.
Jim Halpert’s last blog post..$1-$49
Although this will be Tiger’s first absence since 1995, by his high standards his Ryder Cup record is mediocre – won 10 and lost 13.
Tiger is here today at the Framers Insurance Open!!
Let’s hope he doesn’t end up melting like what happened here.
San Diego Artificial Grass