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Tiger Woods was noticeably hurting during Saturday's third round - he was, in fact, playing with a broken left leg. (Charlie riedel/Associated Press) |
Woods forced out for rest of season
He played with ACL tear, stress fractures
Two days after his third US Open and 14th major championship triumph, the margin of victory did not change for Tiger Woods. It still went into the record book as a playoff that required 19 holes.
But the magnitude of his latest achievement has increased. It has been learned that he played with a broken leg.
Woods revealed the full extent of his injury in a statement on his website yesterday: he will have reconstructive surgery on the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and be sidelined for the remainder of the 2008 season.
As he practiced for, and then played in, last week's US Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego, Woods revealed little about his health, except to say he had recovered enough from April 15 arthroscopic surgery to compete.
Now it's been disclosed that in pushing himself to get ready for a possible start in The Memorial (May 29-June 1), Woods suffered a double stress fracture of the left tibia. Doctors recommended crutches for three weeks, then rest for another three weeks, but he went against their advice.
Hank Haney, Woods's swing coach, told reporters that "Tiger looked the guy in the eye and said, 'I'm playing the US Open and I'm going to win.' "
As to why he never went public, Woods explained on his website.
"I know much was made of my knee throughout last week," wrote Woods, "and it was important to me that I disclose my condition publicly at an appropriate time. I wanted to be very respectful of the USGA and their incredibly hard work and make sure the focus was on the US Open. Now it is clear that the right thing to do is to listen to my doctors, follow through with this surgery, and focus my attention on rehabilitating my knee."
Woods did not announce a date for the surgery, which will require 6-8 months of rehabilitation. He will miss next month's British Open and the PGA Championship in August, putting a halt to his streak of 46 consecutive major championship appearances since he turned pro. He'll also miss the Ryder Cup in September, not to mention the PGA Tour's
Said PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem in a statement: "For an athlete as talented and competitive as Tiger Woods, taking the rest of the season off must have been an incredibly difficult, yet necessary decision. [It's] one that we understand and support completely."
Considering the amount of attention he attracts when healthy, the spotlight was on Woods to even greater degrees at Torrey Pines, and as he made a dramatic charge in Saturday's third round, NBC cameras captured him several times nearly collapsing to one leg following powerful swings. Five strokes behind through 12 holes, Woods over the next six holes made two improbable eagles and a stunning pitch-in birdie to vault into a one-stroke lead.
He squandered that lead in Sunday's final round, but made a 12-foot birdie putt with the last shot of regulation to force a playoff with Rocco Mediate, then at the 18th hole Monday made another must putt, this one from 4 feet, to force a 19th hole in the playoff and 91st of the tournament.
Following the victory, Woods confirmed that his doctors had advised him against playing, but he felt he could manage. He didn't say much else, except that he would "shut it down" for a while. There was speculation he was badly hurt and might need surgery, but no one envisioned the extent to which he was injured. The last view of Woods Monday was of him holding his third US Open trophy and limping slowly up a hill toward his car in the parking lot.
The next evening, the Woods camp contacted a select group to tell them about the news that would be made public the next day.
"They wanted to make sure that we heard it directly from them and I thought that was stylish," said Seth Waugh, CEO of
Waugh enjoys both a professional and personal relationship with Woods. The 2006 champion, Woods has played in every Deutsche Bank Championship and Waugh knows how much he means to the tournament and the Tour.
"It's a bummer that he's hurt and a bummer that he'll miss our tournament," said Waugh, "but this is obviously understandable."
Waugh has been captivated on several occasions by Woods's talents, but Monday took it to another level now that the true extent of his injury has been revealed.
"We've run out of words to describe him," said Waugh. "He should have been in bed or on crutches. He couldn't have done anymore than he's doing. He's a freak. He wins on a broken leg? It's nuts."
The Woods website provided some historical reference points to the injury, saying he originally tore the ACL while running at home in Florida following last summer's British Open. Woods opted not to have surgery, but instead play through the pain. All he did was win four of the next five PGA Tour events he entered - including his second straight PGA Championship and the Tour Championship that sealed a victory in the first FedEx Cup. The only loss in that stretch was a stirring, head-to-head duel with Phil Mickelson at the Deutsche Bank Championship.
Hoping that an offseason of nearly three months would be enough rest to heal the injury, Woods returned to win his sixth Buick Invitational in late January, then recorded victories in the
Rosenberg also performed surgery on Woods's left knee in December 2002 and it was just nine weeks later that Woods came back to win the Buick Invitational. He cited that comeback several times when asked what he thought his chances were at this year's US Open - "I've done it before," said Woods - but he concedes now that the scenarios were totally different.
So, why did he push the envelope? Why didn't he listen to his doctors and even to some confidants? Woods explained on his website.
"My rehabilitation schedule after the [April 15] arthroscopic surgery was designed with the goal of returning to play at The Memorial," he wrote. "But the stress fractures that were discovered unfortunately prevented me from participating and had a huge impact on the timing for my return. I was determined, though, to do everything and anything in my power to play in the US Open at Torrey Pines, which is a course that is close to where I grew up and holds many special memories for me.
"Although I will miss the rest of the 2008 season, I'm thrilled with the fact that last week was such a special tournament."
It's grown to be even more special in the last 24 hours.
Jim McCabe can be reached at jmccabe@globe.com.
© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.
