Whether you love him or hate him, you have to admire Tiger Woods.
Today's announcement that he will miss the rest of the season because he must undergo reconstructive surgery on his left ACL shocked us all, and put to shame all those who suggested he was milking his injury during the U.S. Open.
In addition to the knee surgery, he needs time off to allow two stress fractures in the same leg to heal. Those fractures "were attributed to Woods' intense rehabilitation and preparations for the U.S. Open."
Going into the Open, Woods knew the extent of his injuries and the prognosis but demurred when asked for details by the media during the tournament. "It was important to me that I disclose my condition publicly at an appropriate time," he said in a statement released today by his agents, IMG.
The ACL injury dates back to last summer and occurred while he was running. He chose not to have surgery and won five of the next six events he entered, and then won his first four this season. The cartilage damage that necessitated arthroscopic surgery after this year's Masters was caused by the ACL injury.
No schedule for the surgery or his return has been announced.
The question on everyone's mind is: Will he come back as strong as he was?
Not that a direct comparison with Ben Hogan would be entirely appropriate, but Hogan and Woods seem cut from the same cloth. Not just because of their domination on Tour, but because both are mentally formidable.
In 1949, at the age of 36, Hogan and his wife Valerie were driving through Texas when their car was hit head-on by a bus. Hogan threw himself in front of Valerie to protect her. She suffered minor injuries, but he had a fractured pelvis, broken collarbone and ribs, damaged ankle and bladder, internal blood clots, and several gashes. A complication from one of the clots led to speculation that he would never walk again, let alone play golf.
Eleven months later, he returned to the Tour, losing a playoff to Sam Snead. Five months after that, he won the U.S. Open in a playoff.
Before the life-threatening disaster on the highway, he had won 53 events, including three majors. After his return, he won 11 more, including six majors, playing a very limited schedule.
Tiger's crisis comes at the age of 32, with 65 wins, 14 of which are majors. And while it would be ludicrous to parallel the enormity of Hogan's scenario with Tiger's, there are elements of the men (not their respective medical situations) that bear examining.
Hogan was as tough a nut as they come. Nicklaus has said that while he has seen players with comparable physical games to Tiger's, not one has had the psychological fortitude. And was it coincidental that Nike aired the "mentally tough" commercial featuring Tiger and his late father during the U.S. Open?
Will Tiger come back? No doubt. And then we can dust off the Steve (Six Million Dollar Man) Austin comparisons.