12/21/24
June 18, 2008
Tiger Woods reportedly to miss rest of season : Tiger Woods will miss the rest of the season because of a left knee that will require more surgery, a person with knowledge of the decision said Wednesday.
Woods played only seven times worldwide this year and won seven of them. Sentence construction and fact-checking issues aside (he's won four out of six, not seven out of seven), that's still a pretty serious winning percentage for a one-legged dude.
posted by chicobangs at 11:08 AM on June 18, 2008
Here is another story on Tiger having season ending surgery. You know the television networks just died hearing this news. The only person who was glad to hear the news was Phil. He might have a chance to beat Tiger now. Notice I said, "might"?
posted by dbt302 at 11:13 AM on June 18, 2008
I bet Rocco wishes this had happened a day earlier.
posted by irunfromclones at 11:14 AM on June 18, 2008
The official release from his site. This obviously leaves a huge hole in the remainder of the season, including the Ryder Cup, but wow will the rest of the schedule be a wild scramble.
posted by netbros at 11:24 AM on June 18, 2008
Makes Goosen (and me) blush a little I imagine. This is very bad news from a Ryder Cup perspective (for the Europeans - who else can you get hold of to underperform like Woods can in a Ryder Cup?). I think he's 5 from 7 worldwide this year - didn't he win in Dubai?
posted by JJ at 11:27 AM on June 18, 2008
Goosen is a moron. I don't know what would possess him to say something so stupid. Still, it definitely didn't look like Tiger was suffering as much as the surgery would indicate. Perhaps he is already the bionic man.
posted by bperk at 12:18 PM on June 18, 2008
I really love watching Tiger Woods play golf. He is the most dominant player of his generation, if not ever, in golf. I do tire a bit, though, of the rest of the world vs. Tiger story line that dominates every tournament in which he plays. Not that it's innappropriate, mind you, it just seems to dominate coverage to a degree that excludes lots of players who work very hard at their craft. I'll miss Tiger and the exitement he brings to the game, but I welcome (for the end of this season) the fact that there will be many compelling story lines that do not involve him. Now, if this knee issue becomes a bit of an albatross and cuts his magnificent career short, it would be incredibly sad, so I'm not wishing Tiger any ill. I'm just looking forward to the few Tiger-free months of golf coverage we can enjoy for the next few months. Of course, it will make it that much more impressive to watch him win the four majors next year. and we Americans have our excuse all set for getting whupped in the Ryder Cup!
posted by tahoemoj at 12:42 PM on June 18, 2008
The linked article said Woods was five for seven, which is very impressive in my opinion. Here's to hoping Woods makes a full recovery.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 12:58 PM on June 18, 2008
I'm just looking forward to the few Tiger-free months of golf coverage we can enjoy for the next few months. It would be nice to see somebody else build some momentum now and actually present a true challenge for Tiger, assuming Tiger can make a full comeback.
posted by chamo at 02:03 PM on June 18, 2008
It would be nice to see somebody else build some momentum now and actually present a true challenge for Tiger, assuming Tiger can make a full comeback. But wouldn't it be a much more compelling storyline if someone actually became a threat to Tiger if he was out there playing? Look what it's done for Rocco Mediate.
posted by BornIcon at 02:07 PM on June 18, 2008
The sport is definitely going to miss Tiger. He is the ratings draw they count on to keep fans watching. Not to back Goosen, however, I did wonder myself how he could put so much pressure on his knees doing the deep knee bend he did when he sank a putt, and then 5 minutes later limp after he mis-hit a shot. Maybe adrenaline explains it?
posted by dviking at 03:28 PM on June 18, 2008
Not to back Goosen, however, I did wonder myself how he could put so much pressure on his knees doing the deep knee bend he did when he sank a putt, and then 5 minutes later limp after he mis-hit a shot. Maybe adrenaline explains it? Adrenaline for sure. I finished the last 10 minutes of a soccer game with what turned out to be a cracked rib. It was a dull pain during that time, but once the game was over and I was no longer pumped with adrenaline, it almost became unbearable to take a deep breath (and would remain so for the next 7-8 weeks).
posted by grum@work at 03:42 PM on June 18, 2008
Grum got it right. I broke my right ankle on the opening kickoff of a football game in high school. It was during the playoffs. I knew something was wrong, but finished the game. When I took off my cleats (high tops) after the game, I really knew. Ankle swelled up like a balloon. Ouch.
posted by hawkguy at 04:07 PM on June 18, 2008
Bob Harig on ESPN.com interviewed Hank Haney, Tiger's swing coach, by telephone and Haney said, "The week of Memorial [two weeks before the Open], I thought there was no chance he could play," Haney said in a telephone interview from his home in Texas. "The doctors told him he needed to be on crutches for three weeks and then three more weeks of inactivity, and then you start rehabbing. "But Tiger looked the guy in the eye and said, 'I'm playing in the U.S. Open and I'm going to win.' Then he started putting on his shoes and told me we're going to go practice. It's just incredible." Big. Flaming. Brass. Ones. These guys come around once a generation at best with talent clearly surpassing all their competition and an iron will that wiil not accept anything short of complete victory. In my lifetime it's a short list; Ali, Jordan, Woods.
posted by gradioc at 05:55 PM on June 18, 2008
Somebody needs to sit Tiger down before he really hurts himself. I am basing this on Hank Haney's comments regarding the condition of Tiger's knee a mere two weeks before the US Open. Tiger's response? "I'm playing in the U.S. Open and I'm going to win. If the condition of his knee were truely that bad, yet he still played in the Open, can be an indication of other "non-physical" issues for Tiger to consider or deal with. 1. Tiger is far and away the best golfer in the world. But he knows this. Does he feel playing hurt is the only way to really challenge himself? 2. His ego? Yes he has a huge ego. Playing with a knee that bad only proves it. As he states, "My greatest victory in a Major." Really? 3. By playing too soon, He may have actually re-injured his knee more severely. Of course this we'll never know. There is no need for Tiger to rush his date with history, "the greatest of all time." This is obvious, and unless he hurts himself, inevitable. But to see him force his body and knee in the manner that we saw this past weekend bordered on the insane.
posted by T.H.E.Cat at 08:36 PM on June 18, 2008
No, it was the US Open, it was Torrey Pines, and it was a challenge, in a career that isn't going to have too many of those until his skills really start to wane, which won't be for another half-dozen years at least. He had to make his point, even if only to himself, and he made it, in spectacular fashion. He can take six or eight months off and make sure everything heals good now, and not only will the sport be okay, he'll be fine too. He hasn't taken a wrong step before. Take the long view on this. He may miss a few tournaments this year, but his legacy has been served, and he can play househusband for a few months at a time where his family could really use it. He'll be fine.
posted by chicobangs at 11:43 PM on June 18, 2008
I'm with Chico. Playing in the US Open wasn't a bad idea. The purpose of the initial surgery (it would seem) was to try to tide him over to the end of the season, at which point they were going to have to do this surgery he now needs anyway. I don't doubt that he did what he thought best at the time and firmly disagree that he was driven by ego or a desire to "win hurt" (that's just silly). His ego might be enormous, but it's well fed and it needs to be that massive in order for him to pull off the kind of shit we love watching him produce. Bottom line is that if he hadn't played, he would always have wondered if he shoud or could have done, and if he had, if he could have won. Jack Nicholson (not a typo) says in the Bucket List that one should "Never pass a bathroom, never waste an erection and never trust a fart." Tiger probably has his own version... never pass a major, never waste a final round lead and never trust a three foot, downhill, left-to-right slider.
posted by JJ at 03:56 AM on June 19, 2008
Jack Nicholson (not a typo) says in the Bucket List When did you become a senior citizen?
posted by bperk at 07:02 AM on June 19, 2008
In my lifetime it's a short list; Ali, Jordan, Woods. Michael Wilbon?
posted by BornIcon at 07:16 AM on June 19, 2008
Imagine what Tiger could have done this year based on what he's done so far. He has 5 wins, 1 second, and 1 fifth place finish. It could have been one of the greatest years ever. I guess we'll never know now. I'm already looking to next year to see how he comes out of the gate. I'm expecting a year that would have put this one to shame. Grand Slam maybe?
posted by dbt302 at 07:17 AM on June 19, 2008
We can speculate all we want. The last time he took an extended break, he came back and lit up the PGA like Tommy on a pinball machine. Expecting legend-level greatness is always a dicey proposition, especially coming back from surgery, but Woods sure as hell knows how to get there from here. Better he takes all the time off he needs to heal fully and get his stroke back. This being-a-witness-to-history stuff is fun, and I'd rather he got back to it properly than just quickly.
posted by chicobangs at 08:26 AM on June 19, 2008
When did you become a senior citizen? I didn't yet, but I saw an HBO special, so I'm all clued up.
posted by JJ at 09:08 AM on June 19, 2008
Whats kindof funny about all of this that he won the tournement with one leg! He never used the leg for an excuse either. Phil would be making sure everone knew about it if it was his leg!
posted by benwaz at 10:21 PM on June 28, 2008
IMO, this makes his win at the US Open against Rocco Mediate even more impressive.