Greater Ponte Vedra Xanax Sales Expected To Climb On Swelling Of Tiger's Achilles
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The earlier coverage of Tiger's disconcerting WD Sunday at Doral included insights and observations from Harig (here) and Elling (here).
Now, the full Woods statement, which Stephanie Wei posted:
I felt tightness in my left Achilles warming up this morning, and it continued to get progressively worse. After hitting my tee shot at 12, I decided it was necessary to withdraw. In the past, I may have tried to continue to play, but this time, I decided to do what I thought was necessary.
I want to send my regrets to the World Golf Championships, Cadillac and the fans. The galleries were tremendous this week and I want to thank everyone for their support.
I will get my Achilles evaluated sometime early next week.
Mark Cannizzaro painted this picture of brief exchange Tiger had with a tour official and notes that he probably didn't spend a lot of time in his car.
The only comment Woods had to a PGA Tour official from the driver’s seat of his car was, “Tell them it’s my leg.’’
Asked which leg, Woods said, “It’s my left leg.’’
With that, Woods, who’s had four surgeries on his left knee, drove out of the parking lot and possibly to his yacht, where he was staying this week with his caddie Joe LaCava.
Woods switched shoes after making the turn in 2-over 38, changing from black to white Nikes. After hitting his second shot into the water on the par-5 10th, he grimaced and kicked his left leg, appearing to favor it the rest of the hole. Before that shot, he showed no signs of a limp.
Woods’ left knee has undergone four operations, most recently in 2008. In 2011, he sprained a ligament in his left knee and strained his Achilles’ tendon after hitting out of the pine straw during the third round of the Masters, where he eventually tied for fourth. He rushed to return for The Players Championship in May, but withdrew after nine holes. Woods didn’t play again for three months, returning at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in August.
Karen Crouse quotes playing partner Webb Simpson about the 12th hole WD by Woods.
Simpson added: “You could tell he was hurting. He didn’t say a whole lot, but his expression was enough that, you know, he was in enough pain to end it.”
Woods and Simpson were playing in the group directly ahead of Johnson Wagner and Rory McIlroy, who ascended to No. 1 with a victory at last week’s Honda Classic.
As soon as Woods departed, most of his gallery also left. Some spectators hung back and followed McIlroy, who challenged for the lead before making bogeys on two of the last five holes.
Oddly enough, Woods was asked about his health on Saturday.
Given that he’d played three tournaments in a row, he was asked how his body was holding up.
“Oh, it feels great,” he said.
Rex Hoggard on where this all leaves us after seeming oh-so-familiar.
Playing his third week in a row, and his fifth tournament this season, Woods was 3 over par and 10 strokes adrift of the lead. Doral marks the third time in three years Woods failed to go the distance at a marquee PGA Tour stop in Florida and opened a void of speculation that will not soon be filled. It also had a surreal déjà vu feeling to it.
In 2010 at The Players Woods also failed to put in a full work week, out after just eight holes on Sunday with an ailing neck he feared was a bulging disk that led to a lost month.
Less than a year ago Woods managed just nine holes at TPC Sawgrass, penciled in a 6-over 42 on the outward loop and bolted in a white Mercedes-Benz with an ailing left knee bound for a three-month stint on the DL.
The only difference on Sunday at Doral was the color of the Mercedes-Benz (black) and the direction he was headed on Interstate-95 (north). But he’s been here before.
John Strege on the reaction to Sunday's events.
Twitter accordingly was rife with speculation, one amateur diagnosis concluding that he had withdrawn with a bruised ego. That he was closer to the parking lot than the lead was not likely to dissuade those doubting the severity of his injury.
Yet by now, it ought to be clear that an injured Woods is not a malingering one. He won the U.S. Open in 2008 on a bum knee that would not allow him to return to competitive golf for seven months.
At the SI/golf.com Confidential the talk centered around Tiger, prompting this from Alan Shipnuck:
For all the talk about his swing and putting, Woods's quest for 19 majors hinges largely on his brittle body. This is a very troubling development. Even if this latest ding isn't overly serious, it's the most recent sign that Tiger's late-30s body can no longer hold up under the strain.
SI also features a gallery of images from Wilfredo Lee of AP, who caught some of the shots of Woods in obvious pain, with grimaces that we've never quite seen before.
And I thought we'd seen all of Tiger's facial grimaces.
