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.
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.
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.
Jack Nicholson (not a typo) says in the Bucket List When did you become a senior citizen?
In my lifetime it's a short list; Ali, Jordan, Woods. Michael Wilbon?
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?
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.
When did you become a senior citizen? I didn't yet, but I saw an HBO special, so I'm all clued up.
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!
