Tiger sidelined after third knee surgery in fifteen years
Brandon Scardigli
Issue date: 4/21/08 Section: Sports
After Tiger Woods' disappointing second-place finish at the Masters Tournament in Augusta, Ga., last week, many people were left wondering, "What's wrong?" Woods lost by three strokes to unknown golfer Trevor Immelman on Sunday, and by Tuesday, we had our answer. Woods was on the surgery table having his left knee operated on for the third time in 15 years.
Woods claimed he had been experiencing some major pains in the knee since the middle of last year but decided to keep it hidden from the media. "He's been having a lot of trouble," said Woods' swing coach Hank Haney. "He doesn't talk about stuff like that. He doesn't want to use excuses, you know?" The first three months of the season certainly gave no indication of any injury when Woods won his first four tournaments.
The arthroscopic surgery took place at the HealthSouth Surgery Center in Park City, Utah, by Dr. Thomas Rosenberg, who repaired some cartilage in Woods' knee. Rosenberg also operated on Woods in 2002 when he needed fluid drained from around his ACL and had a benign cyst removed.
"I made the decision to deal with the pain and schedule the surgery for after the Masters," Woods said. "The upside is that I have been through this process before and know how to handle it. I look forward to working through the rehabilitation process and getting back to action as quickly as I can."
The recovery process should only take about four to six weeks, according to doctors, but it comes in the middle of the PGA season. "Of course, we're disappointed when Tiger is unable to compete in a PGA Tour event," Commissioner Tim Finchem said. "There is really never a good time for an athlete, especially one of Tiger's caliber, to take weeks off from competition during the season. But his health concerns have to come first."
So what does this mean for the golfing world? It means that for the next 42 days, the playing field is leveled. It means that for the next six tournaments, it's anyone's game. It should give us some of the most competitive matches we have seen since the Tiger Woods era began, and it should force us to take a much deserved harder look at some of the lesser known, but talented, competitors. If history has told us anything, it's that when Tiger is forced to sit out, he comes back with a vengeance. After his 2002 surgery, Woods won his next tournament, The Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines, and then went on to take the next two out of three competitions as well.
If all goes as planned, Woods should make his return at the Memorial Tournament May 29 at the Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, where Woods won last year and should be the favorite to do so again this year. The Memorial should give Tiger a nice warm-up before heading into the US Open June 12.
Woods claimed he had been experiencing some major pains in the knee since the middle of last year but decided to keep it hidden from the media. "He's been having a lot of trouble," said Woods' swing coach Hank Haney. "He doesn't talk about stuff like that. He doesn't want to use excuses, you know?" The first three months of the season certainly gave no indication of any injury when Woods won his first four tournaments.
The arthroscopic surgery took place at the HealthSouth Surgery Center in Park City, Utah, by Dr. Thomas Rosenberg, who repaired some cartilage in Woods' knee. Rosenberg also operated on Woods in 2002 when he needed fluid drained from around his ACL and had a benign cyst removed.
"I made the decision to deal with the pain and schedule the surgery for after the Masters," Woods said. "The upside is that I have been through this process before and know how to handle it. I look forward to working through the rehabilitation process and getting back to action as quickly as I can."
The recovery process should only take about four to six weeks, according to doctors, but it comes in the middle of the PGA season. "Of course, we're disappointed when Tiger is unable to compete in a PGA Tour event," Commissioner Tim Finchem said. "There is really never a good time for an athlete, especially one of Tiger's caliber, to take weeks off from competition during the season. But his health concerns have to come first."
So what does this mean for the golfing world? It means that for the next 42 days, the playing field is leveled. It means that for the next six tournaments, it's anyone's game. It should give us some of the most competitive matches we have seen since the Tiger Woods era began, and it should force us to take a much deserved harder look at some of the lesser known, but talented, competitors. If history has told us anything, it's that when Tiger is forced to sit out, he comes back with a vengeance. After his 2002 surgery, Woods won his next tournament, The Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines, and then went on to take the next two out of three competitions as well.
If all goes as planned, Woods should make his return at the Memorial Tournament May 29 at the Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, where Woods won last year and should be the favorite to do so again this year. The Memorial should give Tiger a nice warm-up before heading into the US Open June 12.
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