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Posted on Wed, Jul. 02, 2008

Tiger the patient must be patient for this comeback

The PGA Tour will experience a rarity this week. An active tour member is not competing in the event where he is the designated host.

Obviously, recent knee surgery makes it impossible for Tiger Woods to be a participant in Thursday’s opening round of the AT&T National, the tournament he helps organize to benefit his foundation.

Woods’ doctors, who performed reconstructive surgery June 24 on Tiger’s troublesome left knee, expressed confidence that the procedure went smoothly and should repair a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament. Dr. Thomas D. Rosenberg called it "highly unlikely" that the world’s top-ranked golfer will suffer any negative long-term career implications as long as he follows "proper rehabilitation and training" procedures.

That’s the one variable in this equation that should scare golf fans and PGA Tour officials. Woods, in his zeal to bounce back from arthroscopic knee surgery in April to compete at last month’s U.S. Open, pushed his body to the breaking point.

The fact that he won the Open while playing with two stress fractures in his left tibia, a byproduct of intense rehabilitation efforts to offset an injured knee, underscores what separates Woods from his peers. Not only is his talent level off the charts, but he scores even higher in willpower and mental toughness. On the golf course, that’s almost an unbeatable combination.

During rehabilitation efforts, however, too much willpower can be harmful. Testing a surgically repaired knee too soon, and too intensely, can undo a surgeon’s handiwork and send the patient back to the operating room to re-start the process. Sometimes, the damage done can be irreversible. In retrospect, Woods said "maybe" he risked further damage to the knee by competing at the Open.

Here’s hoping that Woods grasps the scope of his latest rehab assignment and won’t push the envelope this time. The game needs a healthy Tiger pursuing Jack Nicklaus’ career mark for major championships, not a gimpy one who short-changed his opportunity to maximize his greatness because he rushed back to play the 2009 Masters.

If Woods can’t resume playing competitive golf for a full year — a reasonable rehabilitation time for reconstructive knee surgery — then so be it. Don’t worry about trying to win a 15th major until the 2009 British Open. Or the 2009 PGA Championship. Or, if need be, the 2010 Masters. Let the body, not the calendar, decide the timetable.

The pursuit of Nicklaus’ career mark of 18 major titles is a marathon, not a sprint. And the quickest way for Woods, 32, to take himself out of the race is to overestimate his recuperative powers and further damage the knee at this pivotal crossroads in his career.

Although last week’s procedure was the third in five years on Woods’ left knee, it was his first reconstructive — rather than arthroscopic — surgery. The difference, as any football player can tell you, is huge.

Reconstructive knee surgery requires a rehabilitation effort of roughly one year. It’s only a matter of weeks with the ’scope.

Although it is early in Woods’ rehab process, the following quote from agent Mark Steinberg should raise eyebrows.

"There will be debate whether he rushed back for the U.S. Open," Steinberg said.

"But I don’t think there will be any debate that he rushes back from [this] surgery. He won’t need to. Augusta is in April."

Yikes! Let’s tap the brakes, Steiny. The 2009 Masters, played in Augusta, Ga., is nine months away. That may be enough time for Woods’ knee to be at 100 percent. Then again, it may not. And if it is not, Woods should not force himself into the fray, as he did at the 2008 Open. He needs to follow his doctor’s advice, not his heart, on this one.

This is uncharted territory, a slippery slope where a miscalculation can lead to the type of long-term health issues that could hinder Woods’ opportunity to redefine golf greatness. No one wants to see that happen.

A healthy Woods projects as a contender in every major he will play for the next 15 years. That’s a total of 60 majors. If he has to skip six, rather than two, to be on top of his game for the other 54, that’s a long-term tradeoff worth making.

Here’s hoping that Tiger and his advisers understand that. For Woods’ own good, as well as the good of the game.