US team to benefit from Tiger injury

So Tiger Woods’ knee and leg injuries have ruled him out of the rest of this year’s season and he will now miss the last two Majors of the season, the British Open and the USPGA Championship. He will also miss this year’s Ryder Cup.

A number of questions have to be asked. Firstly, why was Woods’ so determined to return to play the US Open if he was aware that his knee had not heeled as quickly as he had hoped and that he had a double stress fracture of his tibia? The gruelling five rounds it took to beat off the challenge of Rocco Mediate may well have done untold damage and the ACL operation he now has to undergo will take a long time to recover from.

Clearly the World number one had targeted the US Open for his return to full play and he did not want to let that deadline slip by, regardless of medical advice. But his actions and subsequent injuries, while not detrimental to his career, appear to have been short-sighted.

Woods’ identified the US Open as another Major he could add to the collection in his unrelenting pursuit of Jack Nicklaus’ Major record. Having already won at Torrey Pines before (six times in nine outings), he may well have viewed it as an easier course to win on than possibly the British Open at Royal Birkdale or the USPGA Championship at Oakland Hills.

The second question, which may well be quite easy to answer, is how must Tiger view the Ryder Cup and how will the American team play without him? This biennial event has never been something that Woods’ has on his list of achievements. He only wants to beat Nicklaus’ record. Majors are the only currency the World number one deals in.

Indeed, while this may appear to be a blow to the American team’s chances, it may also allow the team to travel to Valhalla more unified. The debate so often surrounds who will partner may be Woods. And yet, regardless his partner, he has simply not had the same influence in individual matches, let alone the overall Ryder Cup, he has simply not starred in any one of the five Ryder Cup’s he has played in to date. While sponsors and organisers will bemoan his absence, there may well be a return to the ethos of the competition as a whole – that it’s a team competition.

So with the pressure off the players, and with as determined a captain as Paul Azinger leading the team, the players may actually play as a team. With Tiger in the team, this is something that appears to have been lacking in recent years.

Don’t shout it too loudly, but without Woods in the team, the Americans have a better chance than ever to beat Europe at Valhalla this September. And not a moment too soon!

Woods a cut above the rest

Tiger Woods goes into a play-off with compatriot Rocco Mediate for the US Open title later today, seeking his 14th Major victory of his career. But it was nearly a case of what could have been for Rocco Mediate.

Woods had the second worst score in the Top 10 (2 over, along with Camilo Villegas and Lee Westwood). Only Geoff Ogilvy finished worse off, one shot further back.

Woods, who has never lost a major title when leading going into the fourth round, clearly struggled with his left knee throughout Saturday and Sunday. The physios will have been busy overnight to ensure the World No.1 is in tip-top shape for another cut at the testing Torrey Pines course. But that final 12 foot putt will be the only shot broadcast to tell the story of the final round. Never bet against Tiger when it comes to the crunch.

And yet even with Woods visibly handicapped by his knee injury he managed to out-last any of his nearest ‘rivals’. Ogilvy was the only other Top 10 World-ranked player to finish in Top 10.

It seems that the World No.1 will need to be further handicapped in order for the rest of the world’s top golfers to lose their inferiority complex and try competing against Woods.

While Woods has not won every major going, it is symptomatic of the other ‘Top’ golfers that only Phil Mickelson, Vijah Singh and Retief Goosen have increased their Majors tally above one in recent years. Singh (3rd) and Goosen (2nd) last managed that as long ago as 2004 and have not been able to add any more since. While South African Ernie Els has not added to his Major tally of three since 2002.

So Mediate now has an opportunity to break the record that last-round lead record Woods has maintained throughout his career. And no better time to do so either. A fifth day will test all the mental and physical resolve of the World No.1. But one-on-one it is hard to see past Woods. Even with only one and a half functioning legs!