Knee Surgery Sidelines Tiger Woods for Rest of Season After Impressive U.S. Open Victory

There is little doubt that Tiger Woods is one of the greatest golfers of all time, perhaps even the greatest, although you will always have to argue the merits of Jack Nicklaus and Ben Hogan in that debate. But this week marks his 500th week of being ranked No. 1 in the world, and, according to the Associated Press, Woods is second only to Jack Nicklaus in the number of professional majors won (Woods has 14 to Nicklaus' 18) and ranks third in overall PGA Tour wins, with 65. His latest victory at the U.S. Open may be his greatest victory ever, considering the physical difficulties Woods had to overcome to win.

Not only did Tiger Woods just come off of arthroscopic surgery on his knee, a procedure that has sidelined him since April, but two weeks before the U.S. Open, the 32-year-old Woods developed a double stress fracture to his left tibia. Add to this that Woods has been playing with a torn ligament in that same leg for the past ten months. If enduring the pain of these injuries and ignoring doctor's orders to not play the U.S. Open are not enough to impress, consider also that in that ten month period, Tiger Woods has won nine of the ten tournaments he has entered, two of them majors, and has not finished lower than fifth place. Consider that he played 91 holes in five days -- and won, defeating Rocco Mediate on the 19th hole in a playoff.

"Impressive" clearly is not the correct term for such perseverance and achievement.

But he is done for the season. Woods announced on his website: "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." Surgery is scheduled in the near future, but he will miss the British Open, the first missed major of his career, and, incidentally, where afterward last year he tore the ligament -- while jogging -- that has been giving him trouble for the past ten months. He will also miss the Ryder Cup. Woods clinched a position on the U.S. team with his win at the U.S. Open.

Still, if all goes well with surgery and therapy, Tiger Woods will be back on the golf course before next year's Masters.