Just came over the wire. He has a torn ACL and two fractures in his left knee. He will have a full reconstruction.

What do you think of his performance in the Open now?

It was good...great in fact. My entire issue with the whole thing, PGA Tour and media is there are some other guys out there who can PLAY. But they do not get the credit they deserve.

Tiger to miss rest of season

Tiger Woods played five-plus rounds to win the U.S. Open while dealing with serious knee pain.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Tiger Woods is done for the year, but not without one last major that capped off a painful 10 months.

Woods said Wednesday he will have season-ending knee surgery, revealing he has had a torn ligament in his left knee since last July.

And he suffered a double stress fracture of his left tibia while preparing to return to the PGA Tour last month, which forced him to miss the Memorial and was the source of his pain at Torrey Pines when he won 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 in a statement on his Web site.

He had arthroscopic surgery April 15 to clean out cartilage in his left knee, bypassing ACL surgery with hopes it could get him through the 2008 season. But going 91 holes for his 14th career major made it impossible to play any longer.

Woods was last seen in public late Monday afternoon walking with a pronounced limp across Torrey Pines toward the parking lot, the U.S. Open trophy in his arms.

Upcoming surgery makes his 14th major title even more staggering -- despite the stress fractures, he managed to win a U.S. Open that required five days of flinching, grimacing and a long list of spectacular shots that have defined his career.

"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 said.

He played only seven times worldwide this year and won five of them. He will miss a major championship for the first time in his career and will not be available for the Ryder Cup in September.

It will be the third surgery in five years on his left knee, although Woods said doctors have assured him the outlook is positive. When asked Monday if he further damaged his knee by playing in the U.S. Open, Woods said, "Maybe."

Doctors have told him, however, that the stress fractures will heal with time.

He did not say when he would have surgery.

Woods is ultra private with his health and personal life, never more so than at the U.S. Open. He never mentioned the torn ACL or the stress fracture, and wouldn't say how he was treating it, only that it was more sore as the week went on.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was when the injury first happened.

Woods said he tore the ACL while jogging at home after the British Open last July. He chose not to have surgery and went on a run that included seven consecutive victories, including the Dubai Desert Classic in Europe and his Target World Challenge, an unofficial event.

He did not play overseas late last year for the first time since 2003, hopeful that rest could allow him to play more this year. But the pain intensified through the Masters, where he finished second, and Woods said the cartilage damage developed from the ACL injury.

What he didn't anticipate were the stress fractures, discovered as he tried to get ready to play in the Memorial.

"The stress fractures that were discovered just prior to the tournament unfortunately prevented me from participating and had a huge impact on the timing for my return," Woods said. "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."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/golf/wires/06/18/tiger.injury/index.html

When you have a Phenom like Tiger, he will always get the attention, it sells.

Incredible to have that type of injury and still hold the composure.

Oh shoot

Man, am I glad now that I did catch this US Open!

So .... where is Rocco playing next?

Kelly

Can't say that I agree, Wet Doggg. I thought the coverage of the 158th-ranked player was extraordinarily generous. Rocco' skill, determination, and refusal to buckle were as much a part of Sunday AND Monday's broadcasts as the fawning coverage of Woods.

As to the rest of the field? There are about 200 guys who can win a tournament on any given Sunday if Tiger stays home---roughly 10 times the number who competed in Jack's heyday. Tiger is covered exhaustively because his peer group includes only a handful of people you have to collect over the last century or so of play.

As long as he continues to play---he IS the news in golf. And there is the possibility that his ability to play at the level only he achieved is now over.

Let me explain better maybe. First, Johnny Miller just loathing over Tiger makes me sick. Second, even the weeks in the past where Tiger is not in contention he gets most of the pub.

Don't get me wrong, I know how good he is. I have seen it first hand for the past 15 or so years. He is an anomaly...a freak.

It makes his performance even more amazing, and perhaps makes Rocco's less spectacular. So Tiger Woods with a BlowOut Knee is better than everyone else? I guess I can't say I am surprised. This will now be how this tournament is discussed and reviewed in the future, as a Willis Reed type moment for Tiger and Rocco's performance will become a total afterthought.


But I just have to interject some humor here. Does this line:


make anyone else think of Happy Gilmore and putting all those huge paper checks in his car?!

Geez, do you think he can afford to take off a whole year?

Depends on what he spends. Probably won't be a new Yatch this year hahaha.

Well, considering he got his "old" yacht for more or less free, he'll be okay to buy a new one this year.

Big boats. Yum!

Maybe now he can go boating. I mean Yachting.

Who cares!!!

Yeah, I remember hearing that question when Ali came out of exile to fight Joe Frazier. Answer's still the same: "Everybody who cares about sport."

FLB...you can be in line right behind Johnny Miller.

I tend to agree with WD. I love watching greatness, and Tiger has plenty of it. When his in "in the groove" he is truly untouchable. However , Tiger Mania is like the old Dallas Cowboys. They never lost...God just wanted the other team to win.
Unlike many....I was/am a fan of GOLF, not just Tiger Woods.

And that other team was usually the Steelers!

Speaking of ol' Johnny:

I was there on Friday....53,000 of my closest friends were there....unbelievable experience....I've been to many tournaments but none like that......the admiral was a "volunteer," cashiering in the main pavillion. She paid $150 for the priviledge of working.....she got some nice gear and she had fun.....amazing tournament from my perspective.....

So True. Reporters spend all their time trying to get sports figures to make a comment that they can snip out and make a headline that 90% of the time players are forced to repeat tired old cliches. When a reporter is "successful" in actually getting a comment they act like they just can't believe a player said that!

I realize Miller was not being interviewed and is actually part of the media, but it was a joke and kinda funny at that. I'm betting Rocco laughed when he heard it based on his bit on Leno the other night. I'm glad Miller didn't fall all over himself apologizing.

MD, glad you had a great time. When Rocco went down 3 I thought it would quickly deteriorate into a rout; I was amazed he was able to come back and make it an even more memorable tourney.

Oh, no! Johnny has been FAR too critical of Tiger's swing, swing changes, choice of coaches, and game management decisions to suit my taste (and opinion!)

And to straighten out those who compare other 'near' greats with Mr Woods, let's take a moment to reflect on a couple of numbers:

In just a month over 12 years on tour, Tiger has won 65 tournaments. That is a win rate approached by no one else in the game's history.

Since tearing his ACL after last summer's Open victory, Tiger has entered 17 tournaments, worldwide. He's won 14 of them.

Don't tell ME Johnny bigmouth is a bigger Tiger fan than I!

Hey! Rocco is in the early lead at the British Open!

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hq-XbEcsYSuvFRwpATxkT7DSCn8gD91VS1Q00

This is cool .....
Kelly

Still just 3 strokes off the lead ...

http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/leaderboard?tournamentId=411

Greg Norman in 2nd and David Duval tied for 4th, is this 2008 or 1998.

Good one TEG