Can't we just let Tiger rest?

Woods not first athlete to have knee problems

Though he is considered the host of this week's PGA Tour tournament in Washington, D.C., the AT&T National, Tiger Woods is not in attendance. Instead, he's following doctor's orders and staying as stable and low key as possible.

Straight leg brace. Yes to crutches. No to flying. Six to eight months on the sideline.

A tendon in his right hamstring was removed and made into a new anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

The left knee has hurt him for about 10 years. Some cartilage damage was also "corrected" in the left knee. Yes, it's his fourth surgery on that knee, but only the first one that could be called "reconstructive."

Those were the highlight points to a teleconference Woods held Monday and if it's the last we hear of him for several months, it would not be a surprise.

When he is in the public arena and very much the story, Woods goes through the gauntlet of media requests, but now that he's not playing, he is not part of the story and he wants to keep to himself. All the power to him; he deserves it.

It's just too bad a good many doctors out there can't do similarly. Instead of keeping to themselves and their patients, they're reaching out through hospital PR machines to offer free consultations and observations of Woods's condition to any reporter willing to call. And guess what? The reporters have been taking the easy way out and lining up to get quotes from doctors who offer "expert" opinions, analysis, and a prognosis - though, of course, it's always accompanied by the disclaimer that the person being quoted isn't close to the case, has never met the patient, and is merely "speculating," but, hey, it's a good way to get their names in the paper, right?

In recent weeks, everyone except for Dr. Seuss, it seems, has been quoted in stories regarding Woods's knee, as if we were dealing with something rare. But it occurs to me that the knee injury has been a part of the sports landscape since David stunned Goliath, 3 and 1, using a putter and 5-iron - or maybe it was a sling and five stones; it's so hard to keep track.

But, nonetheless, while Woods has recorded a string of "firsts" - the first to win four consecutive professional major championships, the first to win a US Open in double digits of the red variety, the first to make more than 140 consecutive cuts in a row - he is not the first to undergo an operation to repair ACL damage.

Knee injuries have doomed athletes for years and while I know they played before ESPN entered the TV landscape and thus do not exist in our Etch A Sketch sports minds anymore, Bobby Orr and Gayle Sayers - just to name two - were to their landscapes what Woods is to his: youthful brilliance with skills to revolutionize the game. The fact that Orr played but nine full NHL seasons, a mere 657 games, and was retired at the age of 30 is fuel for tears. The fact that Sayers played just five full NFL seasons, 68 games in all, and was retired at 28 is equally sad.

Woods? Fortunately, this is not Orr or Sayers revisited. We've been blessed to have him on our television sets a multitude of times every season going back to his amateur days, perhaps 15 years already. If you factor in just his PGA Tour career, there have been 222 tournaments, 836 stroke-play rounds, 57,884 strokes, 65 victories, 14 majors, and countless improbable shots and moments. Put his career highlights together and it's an embarrassment of riches for those of us who cherish golf and the skill with which it takes to play it well.

Even before this year's US Open and subsequent knee surgery, there was the feeling that Woods's career was more than half over - at least if you subscribe to the theory that he won't play much past the age of 40. On the surface, that's a sobering thought, but it shouldn't be. It's a cause for celebration that we've been along for this magical ride and that after an eight-month hiatus, or thereabouts, it will continue as impressively as ever.

Why think otherwise? Because you've read a story where a doctor who has no connection to the case theorizes that there is something else going on here, a more serious injury, perhaps? Why not consider, instead, that every time Woods has set his mind on something, he's pretty much accomplished it? He was patient with a swing change that rendered him to mere mortal status in 1998 and you'd be foolhardy to think he won't do as the doctor tells him over the next six months or so, and that as sure as his birdie putts were at the 18th hole Sunday and Monday of the recent US Open, Woods will figure out a productive way to swing if he needs to relieve the left knee of some punishment.

Davies wants in on merit

Having shot 3-under-par 70 in the first round of the US Women's Open to sit just three strokes off the lead, Laura Davies made an appearance before reporters Thursday. Always forthright, Davies is often entertaining, but as she stood and answered questions about her round, the thought occurred that there was a strange symmetry to the moment. The day before it had been announced that wrongs were righted and two deserving players - Denny Shute and Craig Wood - were finally extended World Golf Hall of Fame membership.

Shute got in through the veterans' category, Wood barely got the required minimum vote, and their superb careers were finally being recognized.

Sadly, Davies seems to be headed in that direction, too. She deserves to be there, but might not get in given that the LPGA Tour - unlike the PGA Tour - has a qualifying system that is set in stone. A player needs 27 points and Davies has been stuck at 25 for a while now. The way she missed the cut at the US Women's Open - from 70 to 81 - shows her volatile nature and demonstrates that it might be difficult for her to win two more points. She needs to win a major championship (and she hasn't done so since 1996) or two LPGA Tour tournaments (her last win came in 2001).

But if you're waiting to hear her criticism of the system, forget it.

"If I don't get in on merit, I don't want to be in," said Davies, who has 20 LPGA Tour wins, four of them major championships, plus one Player of the Year win.

"As far as I'm concerned, I've had a nice career, but if I can't get the 27 points, then I'm not as good as Karrie [ Webb] and Joanne Carner and all those great players who did it. They did and I've not done it, so I don't want to be in their company yet."

When it was suggested that her desire to play a healthy European Ladies Tour schedule hindered her Hall of Fame numbers, Davies shrugged it off.

"I would say it's safe to say, if I would have played full time in America, then I would have been in [the Hall of Fame] 10 years ago," she said. "But I didn't, and I'm not, and I've got to get on with it."

Should she fall short in the bid to get 27 points and automatic induction, it seems likely that years down the road she will be elected via the international ballot or even the veterans' category, but in both cases it appears that her rightful spot will not come her way without a lengthy wait.

Faxon is dealing with his own knee issues

The knee remains an issue, so he will remain on the sideline. Tiger Woods? Well, yes, but the story's the same for Brad Faxon - and he had his surgery more than six months ago.

"It's a bummer," said Faxon, "but I have to be patient."

Relatively healthy for the bulk of his career, Faxon has been dogged by injuries the last few seasons. Shortly after winning the Buick Championship in August 2005, the Rhode Islander had surgery to repair the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. He concedes now that he should have sat out six to eight months, but he pushed too hard and returned in four, playing in the Mercedes Championship in January 2006. Never in '06 did he feel healthy, which is why he fell to No. 143 on the money list, whereas he had ranked between eighth and 90th virtually every year prior, stretching back to 1986.

Compounding matters was a painful foot and while Faxon had that surgery in 2007, the knee woes never went away. That's why for a second time in two years he had to have major surgery to address the ACL issues.

The only difference is, this time he will let his knee tell him when it's time to return and so far it hasn't.

He had hoped to play in the Memorial in late May, but couldn't. Then he withdrew two days before the start of the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Conn., and while he did take part in his CVS Charity Classic June 23-24, it was a team event for charity, so he was able to use a cart.

The latest tournament to come and go without him was the 36-hole qualifier for the British Open, held Monday outside of Detroit. Faxon had entered, only to withdraw, and he loves the British Open. But having rushed back one time, he's not about to do it again, which is why he was at Dr. Tom Gill's offices recently, having the right knee drained and injected with a gel called Synvisc.

Two more weeks, two more injections of the gel, and then it will be time to reassess, but his 25th season on the PGA Tour is already shaping up to be his quietest.

Etc.

Ins and outs of British qualifying
Simon Dyson and Peter Baker got in. Darren Clarke and Thomas Bjorn didn't. Johan Edfors? In. Paul McGinley? Not in. The story was the same in America, where Jeff Overton and Tim Petrovic breezed in, but Bubba Watson, Jerry Kelly, and Pat Perez did not. It was the final round of qualifiers for the British Open (July 17-20) and there was the usual mixture of nice stories and heartache. Among those who qualified at TPC Dearborn outside of Detroit was Davis Love, who'll make his 22d consecutive appearance in the oldest golf championship of them all, and over at the nearby TPC Michigan, a notable success story belonged to Scott McCarron. Sidelined in 2007 after having major elbow surgery, McCarron, 42, earned a spot into what will be just his fourth British Open and his first major since the 2005 PGA Championship. At the other end of the spectrum was Jose Maria Olazabal. He's been sitting things out of late with rheumatism, but made the trip to London because it was a chance to get into the British Open. Teeing off at 6:30, Olazabal shot 71 in the morning, but capped off a blistering 65 in the afternoon with a scintillating 40-foot birdie putt at his 36th hole of the day. That got him into a six-way playoff for two spots, but as the clock neared 9 p.m., more than 14 hours after he had begun his day, Olazabal made a bogey and got knocked out of the playoff . . . Clarke and McGinley and some others will have another chance to get into the British Open, if they can secure a top-five spot at the Scottish Open.

Going prime time
Those moans and groans by journalists who don't enjoy the 7 p.m. finishes at the US Open? David Fay, executive director of the USGA, hears them. He just won't let them sway his opinion that "golf is a prime-time sport" and deserves a finish worthy of such stature. The complaints were louder than ever this year with a West Coast site (Torrey Pines in San Diego) and Fay indicated that the USGA's broadcast partner, NBC, was thrilled with the ratings, thanks to the 10 p.m. East Coast finish. In short, Fay says get used to it, because the US Open will be staged on the West Coast in 2010 (Pebble Beach), 2012 (Olympic Club), and 2015 (Chambers Bay). "I think it was great - not just for the US Open, but for the game of golf," said Fay. "So why not?"

Monty on Ryder Cup
Fairway news: Colin Montgomerie says he would not use a captain's pick on himself for September's Ryder Cup. Padraig Harrington says Montgomerie must be on the team. Reporters converge on Nick Faldo on a daily basis to see if he's thinking of picking Montgomerie.

Clubhouse view: Samuel Ryder concedes he invented the biennial competition so the Scotsman would have something major to cling to.

Gulbis the prize of essay contest

When the folks at RSM McGladrey, an accounting and tax company, read an essay penned by LPGA star Natalie Gulbis, it inspired an idea for a national contest. "Who's Behind Your Success?" is the theme of the essay contest and submissions will be taken through Aug. 4 via the rsmmcgladrey.com/nataliecontest. The winner, who will be announced Oct. 21, will get to play a round of golf with Gulbis.

Another Woods gets attention
With the game's greatest player sidelined, reporters needing to satisfy their Tiger Woods fix journeyed to Orlando, Fla., last week where Cheyenne Woods teed it up in the Bill Dickey National Junior Golf Tournament. Soon-to-be 18, the niece of you-know-who was a popular target for reporters. She's won more than 30 junior titles. In the fall, Cheyenne Woods will enroll at Wake Forest . . . Some USGA officials are probably unhappy with Maria Jose Uribe's decision to skip defense of her US Women's Amateur title so that she can take an exemption into the Women's British Open. The youngster just finished a mere seven shots behind the winner in the US Women's Open and outplayed Lorena Ochoa and Cristie Kerr for two days. She's making the right move . . . Peter Teravainen, the Duxbury native and longtime European PGA Tour member, will tee it up in Russia this weekend as the European PGA Tour's senior circuit makes its first visit to that country. Last weekend, Teravainen shot 77-70-75 -222 to finish T-41 at the Irish Senior Open . . . The local contingent failed to earn spots into this week's Champions Tour stop, Dick's Sporting Goods Open. Mike San Filippo shot 70, Kirk Hanefeld 72, and Rick Karbowski 74.

Time not right for Senior Women's Open
From a spot up near the clubhouse at Interlachen Country Club, Jane Blalock had a marvelous panoramic view of a majestic golf course - the 10th tee to her left, the first hole to her right, the 18th green down below. Forty summers earlier, she had played in the first of her 19 US Women's Opens and the visit to Edina, Minn., gave her a chance to get reacquainted with a championship that six times produced a top-10 finish. If she had her way, Blalock would be in position to still compete in a national championship for her peers - only the USGA doesn't appear ready to get behind a US Senior Women's Open. "There may come a time when there would be [such a tournament], but we don't think that time is just yet," said Fay.

Larrazabal calls it like it is
Give the man credit for honesty, because after winning the French Open in just his 17th start on the European PGA Tour, Pablo Larrazabal, ranked 481st in the world, told reporters: "I promise you, I don't know what I did." What he did was outplay Montgomerie and Lee Westwood, among others, and earn a spot into the upcoming British Open. Showing great humor, Larrazabal added, "That's amazing. That will be great, but [with] no Tiger, it will be easier to win."