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Tiger no lock at Torrey Saturday, May 31, 2008 By Harry King LITTLE ROCK - The upcoming U.S. Open was supposed to be a "gimme" for Tiger Woods. To pucker up to the silver trophy, all he had to do was sign a correct scoreboard four days running. Now, that crowning is about as shaky as Woods' left knee at The Masters. The conclusion that he would win at Torrey Pines was easy to come by - the No. 1 player in the world competing in an event where the mere tournament title scrambles the brains of about half the field and playing on a course where he has won five times in the last six years. A nip-tuck on that knee in mid-April changed the dynamics and elicited diametrically opposed comments from some of the people closest to Woods. Earlier this week, teacher Hank Haney said his prize pupil was hitting all his clubs better than ever. Those remarks came only days after Woods decided not to play in the Memorial Tournament. Woods has so much respect and admiration for tournament host Jack Nicklaus that he would have played if at all possible. In fact, Woods' agent, Mark Steinberg, called Nicklaus the day after the surgery and said Woods planned to play. Last week, Steinberg called a couple of more times and Woods' people put a check in the mail to rent a house, Nicklaus said. What he said next on The Golf Channel was so telling that I had to double-check the quote online. "But then Mark called back and said he went out and tried to play Thursday (May 22) and couldn't," Nicklaus said. "He said he couldn't put the weight on his knee, couldn't turn it." Even Woods can't hit the ball very far standing flat-footed. When possible, athletes build rehab from surgery into their down time. New York Yankee Hideki Matsui had a similar surgery on his right knee last November and was ready for spring training. On the other hand, Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum was so hampered that he underwent surgery on his left knee slightly more than a week ago with his team in the middle of the NBA playoffs. The knee bothered Woods enough that he had the surgery two days after The Masters with only a two-month window until the Open. When he tees it up on June 12, it will be 60 days between competitive rounds. If his rotation is limited or that oomph with his left knee is less than it should be, he could be wilder than normal with his driver. The U.S. Open exposes his errant tee shots more than any of the other majors, a big reason he has been 17th or worse in five of the 11 Opens he has played in as a pro. A possible saving grace is that the U.S. Open will again feature graduated rough instead of calf-deep growth just off the fairway that was in vogue until 2006. Nobody prepares for a major better than Woods, and he will be as ready as possible. Only he knows what that means, and he's so adept at handling the media that he won't give away anything until he's ready. If the task was being tackled by anybody other than Woods, I'd say no way. He is a freak, a reverent description usually reserved for a Big Brown-type thoroughbred who can gallop faster than his competition can run. Woods' second surgery in five years also raises a big-picture question. Not long ago, there was no "if" in Woods breaking Nicklaus' record of 18 victories in majors, only a "when." There were even predictions about where and when Woods would rack up No. 19. The surgery did not strengthen the knee, it only removed cartilage. In the long run, it could reduce his opportunities to catch Nicklaus. ------- Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media's Arkansas News Bureau. His e-mail address is hking@arkansasnews.com. |
