Just two days after his astounding win at the US Open, Tiger Woods has announced that he will undergo season ending knee surgery.
Woods will have reconstructive surgery on his Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL). Woods revealed that he initially ruptured his ACL while running at his home in Orlando after the 2007 British Open but opted to hold off on surgery.
In addition to his reconstructive surgery on his ACL, Woods will also have repairs done on two stress fractures he sustained while training for the 2008 US Open.
It is unclear at this point whether or not Woods worsened any of his injuries by playing in the US Open.
It was glaringly obvious that Woods was playing in severe pain last week but it was unknown exactly how bad his knee was or what kind of additional damage he was doing to his knee on each and every swing.
Most feared that Woods would not play again until the British Open.
- B/R Ticket Guide
Some feared that Woods might shut it down until the PGA Championship.
Woods’ announcement today far surpassed everyone’s worst fears.
He will not step foot onto a golf course until 2009 at the earliest.
But, stepping back onto the golf course will only be the first step in Woods’ recovery.
He will in all likelihood need to completely change his swing to alleviate the stress on his left knee. That in itself is a major undertaking; doing so while recovering from reconstructive knee surgery will be a monumental undertaking.
Woods will most likely not be back to full form until late 2009 and once he is back to his full form, we will see him play a much different schedule.
Woods has been criticized in recent years for playing in so few tournaments.
Upon his return, Woods will undoubtedly play an even lighter schedule and will likely play a much lighter schedule for the rest of his career.
That means far less Tiger Woods for sponsors, television, and fans, which could negatively impact the popularity of the sport.
Many will question Woods’ decision to play in the 2008 US Open if it is found out that he worsened his injuries by doing so—which is a very practical question to bring up.
But, the full disclosure of the extent of his knee injury just makes his win at Torrey Pines that much more impressive and confirms that Woods was in fact able to beat a field of 156 of the world’s best players while essentially playing on one leg.
For the first time in his 12 year career, Woods’ chances of breaking Nicklaus’ record of 18 major wins is called into question.
But, if we have learned anything in the past week, it is not to bet against Tiger Woods.
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