Yesterday, Tiger Woods met with the media at Congressional Country Club and said that he is "right on pace" to return for the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. His exact quote was:
I'm just trying to get this thing organized for the Open. Basically, it's been right on pace. It's cautious, it's been slow, it's been boring, but the leg is starting to gain some strength. It's hard to be patient. You know I'm not a patient kind of guy. I always want to go all out. Sometimes it's hard for me not to do that, but you have to be smart about it. And I've done that.
I have a sneaking suspicion that the injury is worse than Tiger says it is. After all, Jack Nicklaus did say in a press conference on Tuesday that the world's number one golfer didn't have the strength to hit balls last week...
He was ready to come (to the Memorial). But then Mark (Steinberg) called back, and said he went out and tried to play Thursday, and he couldn't. He said he couldn't put the weight on his knee, he couldn't turn it.
If Tiger can't put pressure on his knee two and a half weeks before he would typically play his first practice round at Torrey Pines, how is he going to be ready? Tiger is going to have to walk 18 holes at least six times during championship week, and put pressure on the knee when he hits balls in preparation.
I know Tiger is a sensible guy and that is why I can't see him playing at the U.S. Open. Even though Woods typically crushes the field at the South course, re-aggravating the knee could end his year. I expect the next time we'll see Woods compete is at the Buick Open.
John Hawkins of Golf World said on the Grey Goose 19th Hole:
Tiger's health situation certainly has my attention. I assume he would be ready for Torrey, and he says he is. But he's not going to tell us if he's not ready. not two weeks out. Tiger knows how to do the media thing better than anybody on earth.
I guess we'll have to wait it out...
