"The bottom line is that we don't really know what is going on with Woods."
/Mike Bianchi's piece on Tiger's WD and leg issues got a lot of attention Friday for suggesting that Tiger's body is breaking down due to no longer having access to Dr. Spaceman. It's a fair question to ask but barring Dr. Spacemen announcing that he used HGH on Tiger, one that we'll never know the answer to.
A better analysis of the situation came from Ron Sirak in a follow up to yesterday's reporting.
The latest injury was announced April 26 in a statement on TigerWoods.com that said he was withdrawing from the Wells Fargo Championship because of a "Grade 1 mild medial collateral ligament (MCL) sprain to his left knee and a mild strain to his left Achilles tendon," which Woods said happened hitting a shot out from under the Eisenhower tree during the third round of the Masters.
"There is no minor injury in a 35-year-old person who has already had four operations," said Dr. Ronald Grelsamer, an associate professor of orthopedic surgery at New York's Mount Sinai Hospital. "A highly trained and toned athlete doesn't suffer a debilitating MCL strain and an Achilles strain playing golf. No other golfer in memory has suffered so many lower extremity injuries while golfing."
After Woods withdrew Thursday, many were wondering why he even tried to play if his knee was bothering him that much. He says it's because the Players is an important tournament and because he is trying to prepare for the event he really cares about -- the U.S. Open. There is certainly disagreement among those who follow the game for a living on whether Woods' poor play has more to do with swing issues, knee issues or desire issues. Strong arguments can be made for all three.