Woods to miss The Open?

[RichF]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/golf/7458357.stm

And from another report:
Relishing the effort required to win yesterday's 108th US Open ar the gruelling Torry Pines Golf Course, Tiger Woods called the victory his "best ever," or at least on par with his first major title in the 1997 Masters.
But his left knee clearly might have a different opinion.

That knee underwent its third operation after this year's Masters. Woods conceded playing in a grueling major on a hilly course less than two months later was not the prescription he received from his doctor.
"I'm not really good at listening to doctor's orders too well," Woods said. "Hey, I won this week. So it is what it is."
Woods was then asked two telling questions:
1 - Did the doctor tell him he could further injure the knee if he played?
Woods nodded his head affirmatively.

2 - He then was asked if he had done additional damage to the knee.
"Maybe," Woods said.

It's probably too early to know for sure, but Woods realizes he has to shut down the knee for the short term. He likely will opt out of commitments to the Buick Open next week and his own tournament, the AT&T; Invitational, the following week. Woods said he is also uncertain about whether he will be ready for the July 17-20 British Open. Jim Suttie, the noted Cog Hill teaching professional who has a PhD in biomechanics, said he would be surprised to see Woods at Royal Birkdale: "I would advise him not to play until he felt better," Suttie said. "Only he knows how severe the pain is, but pain is there. You just can't stress the knee like this and expect it not to blow out again."
Physical therapist Chris Kendall believes the pain Woods endured is an indication he came back too soon: "He hasn't completed effective therapy," Kendall said. "He might not have felt the pain in practice rounds, but when the adrenaline kicks in, it's a different story. It's that extra 5-10 percent that causes him to thrust the knee. That's when he feels it."

Woods might have skipped this U.S. Open if it hadn't been at Torrey Pines. The fact that he has played the course for many years and won six times there allowed him to keep his preparation to a minimum, according to his swing coach, Hank Haney: "I was apprehensive," Haney said. "He had never done it before without preparing. It's unbelievable. This might be the greatest win he ever had."
Haney said he wasn't concerned about Woods' long-term health. But he could be overly optimistic.

Is Woods' knee the equivalent of Sandy Koufax's arthritic left elbow, which forced him to cut short a sensational career? Already that knee has Woods playing a reduced schedule.
Woods is 32, but he certainly walked like a man who was much older at Torrey Pines.

" Everyone plays with knick-knack injuries," Woods said. " Rocco has done it pretty much his entire career with his back. You have injuries. You play through it and suck it up and get it done."

Woods overcame his pain to win the U.S. Open. But he also discovered that pain is a formidable opponent, one that isn't going to go away.

[Ruari]

Looking at him this week, I think he'd be bonkers to play even The Open unless he was totally sure his knee was up to it. Birkdale may not be as hilly as Torrey Pines but it's still a test and it has burrowing critters about who...well, burrow, and leave holes lying around. The Members aren't allowed to leave divots on the course - they have to play off mats in 'blue zones' between now and The Open - but just try and stop rabbits doing what rabbits do.
A stark choice faces Tiger: his longer term career or immediate short term glory.
While many choose the flaming meteor approach, I'd go for the longer career. Make sure he passes Jack's record. If he plays on it again before it's fully healed, he may be stopped dead in his tracks.

[RichF]

Looking at him this week, I think he'd be bonkers to play even The Open unless he was totally sure his knee was up to it. Birkdale may not be as hilly as Torrey Pines but it's still a test and it has burrowing critters about who...well, burrow, and leave holes lying around. The Members aren't allowed to leave divots on the course - they have to play off mats in 'blue zones' between now and The Open - but just try and stop rabbits doing what rabbits do.

Yeah - this is the part that I found most telling:

Did the doctor tell him he could further injure the knee if he played? Woods nodded his head affirmatively. He then was asked if he had done additional damage to the knee. "Maybe," Woods said. So, it's exactly 4 weeks to The Open, WGC Bridgestone one week later, the PGA Championship one week after that. It wouldn't surprise me if he 'shut it down' until The PGA Championship, then rested another month until The Ryder Cup....

[Magnus]

In my opinion, they'll have to drag him off the course at Birkdale.......no way he misses a major.

He'll rest/reahb for a month, be at Birkdale, then the PGA.

I wonder if he will scale back the schedule in the future, play only in the Majors, the Buicks (for which he is contractualy obligated to play) and the Players, etc...maybe 10 events a year? 12? Wouldn't surprise me...

Conjecture all of this, but just what I happened to be thinking after watching a great weekend of golf at Torry!

[iacas]

So, it's exactly 4 weeks to The Open, WGC Bridgestone one week later, the PGA Championship one week after that.

The PGA is three weeks after the British Open.

Tiger was asked by Rich Lerner whether he might be done for the year, and he said effectively "maybe." I started a topic on Tiger's knee. Feel free to chat there. It's a bit more far-reaching than whether he'll miss Birkdale.

I wonder if he will scale back the schedule in the future, play only in the Majors, the Buicks (for which he is contractualy obligated to play) and the Players, etc...maybe 10 events a year? 12? Wouldn't surprise me...

I don't think he'd be eligible for The Players if he didn't meet PGA Tour requirements for 15 events per year.

And I don't think he's "contractually" obligated to play the Buick events, and if he is, if he told Buick he couldn't play because he'd be risking injury or at least ability in the majors, they'd let him out.

[RichF]

The PGA is three weeks after the British Open.

Yeah, 3 weeks - my mistake!

Iacas - can you merge this into your 'knee' thread or you want to close it down?