LA JOLLA, Calif. — For most of the past week during its U.S. Open coverage, the Golf Channel has been heavily promoting its “Two Weeks of Tiger,” featuring two upcoming tournaments of the world’s top-ranked player.
But in the aftermath of Monday’s U.S. Open, it was clear that a new campaign will be needed. Although he won his 14th major championship, and his first tournament back following knee surgery in April, it was obvious that Woods was suffering during the process.
Afterward, he said was going “to shut things down for awhile,” leading to speculation that his participation in golf’s next major, July’s British Open, may be in doubt.
“I really don’t know,” Woods said when asked if he will be at Royal Birkdale for the British, which is still seven weeks away. “I pushed it pretty hard this week and I just want to enjoy it. We’re going to reevaluate after this event and see what happens.”
At one time, pushing the June 26-29 Buick Open as well as the July 3-6 AT&T National probably seemed like pretty safe bets for the network. The car company is one of Woods’ major sponsors, while the player is the host of the latter event, which is in just its second year.
Now, it’s highly unlikely Woods will be on the course for either. After downplaying questions about his knee throughout the past week, Woods and his camp finally gave some indications of how badly he was hurting during the U.S. Open. Woods said his doctors recommended against him playing in the tournament, adding he was told he could cause further damage to the knee by participating.
His coach, Hank Haney, said that the Sunday before the U.S. Open began was the first time Woods walked nine holes on a golf course following the surgery. Haney also said that from the time Woods began his preparation for the tournament until he teed off in Thursday’s opening round, he never hit more than 50 golf balls in any single day.
Even so, Haney said, “He told me, ‘I’m playing and I’m winning the U.S. Open.’ How does he do that? How can he play like that with as little preparation as he had?”
