The Only Thing That Counts Is Me

It is Monday night (Singapore time). I am in the lounge waiting for my flight to Tokyo. I had timed this business trip perfectly - I would get to watch the final round of the U.S. Open this Monday morning on TV before catching my flight on Monday night - or so I thought. Instead, Tiger Woods struggled throughout the final round and trailed Rocco Mediate as he reached the par 5 18th hole.

Needing a birdie to tie, Tiger drove into the left fairway bunker, hacked his 2nd shot into the right rough, played a perfect pitch pin high, 12 feet from the hole and just barely managed to drain the birdie putt. Now, I will be on my way to Tokyo in the beautiful new A380 while Tiger and Rocco duke it out in the 18 hole playoff. I won't get to see - live on TV - who won the U.S. Open after all. It's one of God's little jokes on me; one of a long running series of little jokes which I have written about previously.

However, that is not the point of this post. Far more important than God's little joke on me is the balance of the Universe turning against Tiger. I have watched on TV almost every Major Tiger has played in his professional career. I have seen him win comfortably. I have seen him win through sheer determination. I have seen him win through good fortune. I have however, never seen him try to win, or even try to play, through so much pain.

A few days after the Master's tournament, Tiger announced he was going for reconstructive knee surgery. It would be the 3rd operation on his left knee in a decade. It is well known that Tiger's swing puts tremendous strain on his left knee. He has condoned a suggestion that part of the reason he changed his swing in 2003 was to put less stress on his left knee but it now appears that the changes to his swing have done little to reduce the wear and tear his knee suffers.

After surgery, the 1st tournament Tiger was supposed to play in was the Memorial but he skipped that because he said his knee was not sufficiently healed yet. Instead, the first time Tiger even played 18 holes of golf was in the 1st Round of the U.S. Open. Hardly the best preparation for this U.S. Open. Be that as it may, he has continued to perform well, rising to lead the tournament after 3 rounds. However, every day he plays, the signs are obvious that his left knee is hurting more and more. In the 2nd Round, he winced in pain after tee-off on the 18h hole. In the 3rd Round, he started wincing midway through the back nine and Tiger missed 5 fairways in a row. In the 4th Round, he winced on the 2nd hole and by the back nine, he was crying out in pain with almost every drive.

Rocco Mediate was asked whether he thought Tiger would be able to play in the "5th round" playoff? Rocco said given that Tiger was in a playoff to win his 14th Major tournament, "He would crawl around the course if he had to." It may have been a remark made partly in admiration and partly in jest at Tiger's determination to win Majors but it struck the nail on the head - Tiger would have withdrawn from this tournament if it was not a Major. Tiger's left knee is not fully healed. He is doing it more damage with every swing he makes. Even if he wins tonight (Singapore time), will he have done some serious damage to his left knee in the process? Will this be the last left knee operation Tiger has in his career?

Regardless of whether he wins or loses tonight, the following now seems highly probable:

1) Tiger's golf career will be shortened by this recurring injury. He will either play less years than he otherwise would have wanted to or he will play less tournaments. In fact, it is likely to be both.

2) After this U.S. Open, Tiger will skip all tournaments until the next Major - The Open Championship.

3) After The Open Championship, Tiger is again likely to skip all tournaments until the final Major of the year - The PGA Championship.

Some people believe that the concept of balance is built into the fabric of the Universe. The largest stars may burn the brightest but they also shine for the shortest period of time. Does the same hold true for Tiger? In the words of William Blake: