The Tuesday after his Master's runner up finish, Tiger Woods was in Park Center, Utah undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery for cartilage repair. He will be out for six weeks.
Although he never mentioned it to anyone, he has been suffering pain since the middle of 2007. The only evidence anyone has seen of it was at the PGA Championship last September. On Sunday he stumbled behind the 8th green after making a putt and stepping back for a fist pump. He hobbled a bit and then seemed to be back in form.
Hank Haney worked with him prior to the Masters and went to Augusta with him. But Hank says he knew the knee was bothering him a lot. But Tiger didn't say a word to him about it. However, he says Tiger never mentions things like that. He doesn't want to sound like he's making excuses. Hank didn't know about the surgery until Tiger called him and told him.
He likely will not be back until June for the U.S. Open. This means he will not be able to defend at Wachovia. He will also miss the Players. That tournament he has never missed since turning pro. There is a possibility he will be able to make the Memorial two weeks before the U.S. Open. That one's a wait and see.
Here's a quote: "I made the decision to deal with the pain and schedule the surgery for after the Masters," Woods said. "The upside is that I have been through this process before and know how to handle it. I look forward to working through the rehabilitation process and getting back to action as quickly as I can."
Actually, I noticed he was having a little trouble coming up out of bunkers at the Masters. The thought occurred to me that he was moving like an old man in those situations. But basically he has been winning tournaments since last August with a bum knee.
Marion
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