The U.S. Open figured to be the closest to a sure thing for Tiger Woods in the majors this year, but maybe not anymore.
Two days after his quest for a Grand Slam fizzled at the Masters, Woods had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee for the second time in five years and will miss at least four weeks while he recovers.
The announcement, which Woods made Tuesday night on his Web site, was a surprise to everyone except those around him.
“He’s been having a lot of trouble,” swing coach Hank Haney said. “He doesn’t talk about stuff like that. He doesn’t want to use excuses, you know? I don’t think it affected his play. It affected his practice a little bit.”
The surgery was performed in Park City, Utah, by Thomas Rosenberg, who also operated on Woods’ left knee in December 2002. Woods also had surgery in 1994 on his left knee to remove a benign tumor.
“I made the decision to deal with the pain and schedule the surgery for after the Masters,” Woods said on his Web site. “The upside is that I have been through this process before and know how to handle it. I look forward to working through the rehabilitation process and getting back to action as quickly as I can.”
