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Tiger Woods: Won And Done

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Tiger Woods has decided to skip the rest of the PGA season to allow his injured left knee to heal.

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By MICK ELLIOTT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 19, 2008

SAN DIEGO - There is no reason to doubt him now.

Tiger Woods endured 91 holes of golf to win the U.S. Open, despite playing with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament and two stress fractures in his left leg.

While news that he is done for the remainder of this season shocked golf Wednesday, it should not threaten Woods' record-setting career, according to experts.

He will need surgery to repair the knee damage and time to heal the stress fractures - apparently suffered in recent weeks while rehabbing the knee - but he is expected to come back as strong as ever.

"A non-athlete can often get away without repairing an injured anterior by building up your quads and carrying on normally," said Joe Diaco, the Buccaneers' longtime team doctor. "But for a premier athlete, it's very unusual for the anterior not to be repaired immediately. But he elected not to and won six tournaments or something like that.

"It's amazing. I don't think there will be any long-term disability. I think the story is how amazing it is that he could play with no anterior cruciate."

Added Scott Goldsmith, orthopedic surgeon at South Florida Baptist Hospital in Plant City: "Strictly talking about anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, he has greater than 90 percent chance of returning to the same level of play."

Woods announced Wednesday on his Web site that he originally ruptured the ACL in 2007 while running at his home in Orlando after the British Open. He chose not to have the surgery at that time and went on to win five of six events he played during the remainder of the season. He then won three straight tournaments to begin this year and finished as runner-up in the Masters.

He had surgery April 17 after finishing at Augusta National, but it was only to clean out loose cartilage from the knee. He returned for the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines without having played a competitive round or having walked 18 holes since the surgery.

According to Woods' statement, he remained mum on his condition so as not to detract from tournament week.

"I know much was made of my knee throughout the last week, and it was important to me that I disclose my condition publicly at an appropriate time," he said. "I wanted to be very respectful of the USGA and their incredibly hard work, and make sure the focus was on the U.S. Open. 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."

Woods said he had ignored the advice of doctors by competing in the Open, which ended Monday with a playoff.

"I was determined, though, to do everything and anything in my power to play in the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, which is a course that is close to where I grew up and holds many special memories for me," Woods said in the statement. "Although I will miss the rest of the 2008 season, I'm thrilled with the fact that last week was such a special tournament."

Woods has been assured by doctors the outlook is positive for the ACL recovery and the healing of the stress fractures.

The ACL is one of four main ligaments that help connect five bones to the shin bone. Its function is to prevent the shin bone from moving forward. Without it, the knee is not stable. Normal lifestyles can be continued without the ACL, but not as a world-class athlete.

"It's important to point out the ACL is not able to be fixed," Goldsmith said. "It is only able to be reconstructed. When you have a rupture in the middle of it, you cannot suture the two ends together and expect it to heal. You have to reconstruct it with another ligament or tendon.

"There are three main options. You can use your own tissue, commonly taking the middle third of a little tendon from the kneecap to the shin bone with a little piece of bone. Secondly, we can take one of the hamstring tendons without you knowing it's gone, to replace the ACL. Then, there are many, many cadaverous tissues that can be used."

While Goldsmith suggested an "excellent" likelihood of Woods' full recovery, he did acknowledge the injury's potential for causing future progression of arthritis.

Meanwhile, Woods is gone for the rest of this season, meaning he will miss the British Open, the PGA Championship, the FedEx Cup playoffs and the Ryder Cup.

"I admire Tiger as a person, player and fan," said U.S. Ryder Cup team captain Paul Azinger, who last week referred to Woods as his team's "show pony." "This should not be about Tiger and the Ryder Cup now. This is about Tiger's health and well-being and his march to history."

Woods should, however, be ready to return next season.

"With a football player, it is seven months to a year of recovery," Diaco said. "I'd say it would be the same for a golfer, depending on how well the rehabilitation goes. Knowing Tiger, I'd say seven months."

Reporter Mick Elliott can be reached at (813) 281-2534 or melliott@tampatrib.com.

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