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This is just getting silly.

No one has answered my simple question: why would he have gone against the doctor's orders and risked greater or permanent injury?

There is simply no justification for it -- he's going to be a champion golfer for many years to come. If playing had any chance at all of long-term or permanent injury, I think he would have just missed it in order to have a chance to win for the next 10 years.

And, I think that obviously the chance of doing more permanent damage was either zero or so little that it didn't matter. So he could either play in some pain or not play, it probably doesn't really make a big difference in the time it takes to gt back to 100%.

Tiger has too lucrative a career to rush back from any injury too quickly right now. There is no way he'd take a chance. It's not like he's 49 years old and needed this one major to tie Jack or something. He's still young (in golf terms) and has many more majors to go -- that's the real goal. I'd think he'd certainly give up a short term goal (like winning the 2008 U.S. Open) if by doing so he'd put the long term goal (of winning more majors than anybody) in any kind of jeopardy.

That's why I just don't buy any conspiracy theory. Tiger's got way too much to give up just to win any single individual tournament right now.

I think inside he knew he could go the distance. "no 1 will be as mentally tough as u" (close to tigers dad quote. i always mess it up) he got over watever pain was there to win 1 of the top things in golf.

Hey BigNose-

Why? Who knows? But Tiger admitted that he did and that he risked further damage by doing so.

He said he went against doctor's orders because he wanted to play.

Perhaps it really is as simple as that: That he is no different than any other guy doing something he shouldn't be doing according to his doctor. Though not wise, I would guess most guys are like that, and unwise behavior such as that is admired as much as it is frowned upon.

And it sure worked out nicely for Tiger this past weekend.

like i said earlier, hes done for the rest of the year except THE OPEN and THE PGA

Interesting information:

ACL Injury - Knee1.com

Well, I'm certainly not too big to not admit when I am clearly wrong. Because I was wrong -- big time.

I am still floored, maybe I just don't have anywhere near that same drive, but I just don't get how it could have been worth risking much more serious injury to play in a tournament he certainly wasn't a lock to win. Seems very un-Tiger like in that it isn't the smart move. Then again, what he did on 13 in Sunday was very un-Tiger like too, so maybe it does all fit.

Bignose....we all have something that drives us beyone words. This was Tiger's home, a place with many special memories. And from what it seemed...there wasn't much more he could do to his knee. He already has to have his ACL rebuilt and the stress fractures were close to being healed by the time the tournament came around. I guess he could tear a meniscus or mcl, but who knows.

I mentioned this late Sunday night in another thread. Cartilage is gone and the ACL is damaged, season ending surgery is coming soon. He will be lucky to get back to 100% sadly.

Here is a statement that was posted on Tiger's website today:

Tiger Woods To Undergo Reconstructive Knee Surgery and Miss Remainder of 2008 Season

6/18/2008


Doctors assure Woods that long-term prognosis is very good with rehabilitation and training

Just days after winning the 2008 U.S. Open in a dramatic sudden-death playoff, Tiger Woods announced that he will be forced to undergo reconstructive Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) surgery on his left knee and will miss the remainder of the PGA TOUR season.

In addition to the knee surgery, Woods will require the time off to rehabilitate a double stress fracture of his left tibia that was discovered last month just prior to the Memorial Tournament. The stress fractures were attributed to Woods' intense rehabilitation and preparations for the U.S. Open. Doctors have assured Woods that the stress fractures will heal with time.

"I know much was made of my knee throughout the last week, and it was important to me that I disclose my condition publicly at an appropriate time. I wanted to be very respectful of the USGA and their incredibly hard work, and make sure the focus was on the U.S. Open," said Woods. "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."

A date for the knee surgery, as well as the necessary rehabilitation schedule, has not yet been determined.

"While I am obviously disappointed to have to miss the remainder of the season, I have to do the right thing for my long-term health and look forward to returning to competitive golf when my doctors agree that my knee is sufficiently healthy," said Woods. "My doctors assure me with the proper rehabilitation and training, the knee will be strong and there will be no long-term effects."

Woods originally ruptured the ACL in 2007 following The Open Championship when he was running at his home in Orlando. At that point, he elected to not have surgery, and instead attempted to play through the pain. Following the injury, Woods went on to win five of the next six events he entered, including the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, the PGA Championship, the BMW Championship, the TOUR Championship and the Target World Challenge, while also finishing second at the Deutsche Bank Championship. He carried that streak over into 2008, winning his first four events of the year, the Buick Invitational, the Dubai Desert Classic, WGC-Accenture Match Play and the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

In the fall of 2007, Woods decided to forego a number of playing opportunities to allow the knee time to heal in preparation for the 2008 season. He still experienced pain early in 2008, however, and in an effort to allow him to play through the remainder of the season, elected to have arthroscopic surgery immediately following the Masters to clean out cartilage damage. The cartilage damage in fact developed as a result of the ACL injury, and Woods' hope was that the arthroscopic surgery would get him through the remainder of the season and allow him to delay the ACL surgery until after the season.

"My rehabilitation schedule after the arthroscopic surgery was designed with the goal of returning to play at the Memorial, but 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," said Woods. "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. Although I will miss the rest of the 2008 season, I'm thrilled with the fact that last week was such a special tournament."

Tiger Woods, ranked number one in the world on the Official World Golf Ranking and leading the 2008 PGA Tour Money Leaders list, has 65 PGA TOUR victories to his credit, including 14 major championships, ranking him third all-time in wins, just eight behind Jack Nicklaus and 17 behind the all-time leader Sam Snead. This past week, Woods also celebrated his 500th week as the number one ranked player in the world, a position he first attained eleven years ago on June 15, 1997.

"I would like to thank my fans and partners for their continual support and can assure everyone that I will be as dedicated to rehabilitating my knee as I am in all other aspects of my career," said Woods

Updates on Woods' surgical and rehabilitation timelines will be provided at a later date once a schedule has been finalized.

Contact:
Mark Steinberg
IMG

Cliffs for those who don't want to read all of the above.

-Torn ACL while running after the 2007 Open Championship
-Elected to play rather than have surgery, and went on to win 9 out of next 10 events
-Didn't have surgery during the offseason, but gave it "extra time to heal" by skipping events
-Damaged cartilage over time due to the existing ACL injury, had surgery right after the Masters
-Trained too hard trying to make it back for Memorial, resulting in a double tibial stress fracture
-Won the US Open with a torn ACL, two stress fractures, and an 8 week old meniscus repair
-Will now have season ending ACL reconstruction surgery

.....................

The thing that confuses me, is that he could have just done the needed repairs after the PGA, and probably would have been back full strength in time for the Masters... that's nearly 8 months to make a full recovery. Then, he goes on to have meniscus surgery, but again ignores the damaged ACL. Any doctor will tell you that ignoring a torn ACL will result in meniscus damage, it is almost certain. Meniscus damage can cause major knee problems. Hindsight is always 20-20 though, and he obviously knows what he is doing, so who am I to question?

thats almost shocking.

and ignorant.