Capelle On Golf

When Tiger Woods announced that he was having knee surgery two days after the Masters, the golf world looked forward to a speedy return. The original estimates for his return ran from 4-6 weeks. Now we can see that they were preposterously optimistic.

At that time of his surgery I took a different approach from every other writer – I looked back and pondered the timing of Tiger’s decision. Why now? Why didn’t he do it in the off season when he’d have months to recover? Certainly the signs of trouble were there since no later than May of last year.

Now the problematic knee has come home to roost. Woods will have reconstructive surgery on his ACL tendon and he will miss the rest of the year. And, by missing the rest of the year, he will take all the time that’s needed to get in the best possible shape as he should have last year.
By delaying the third surgery he will lose two starts in the majors, his momentum, and possibly his ability to win at a prolific rate. His knee also brings out a thousand questions about his career. Will he be the Tiger of old once he’s healed? Will he have to change his swing once again? Is the race to become the Best Ever over? And on and on.

Below are the posts that I wrote in following his surgery in April. I’ll have a lot more to say on this going forward.

THE POSTS

Tiger Woods Surgery Raises Several Questions
April 16th, 2008
Tiger Woods’ knee surgery hit the golf world like a mega-ton bomb today, coming as it did smack in the heart of the golf season. In retrospect, we should have seen this coming. His knee has been, and will likely continue to be, a problem. He first has surgery on it in 1994, then again in December, 2002. (Continued…)

Tiger Woods Blunders in Delaying Surgery
April 17th, 2008
Imagine you’re a huge Tiger Woods fan (maybe you are). You informed your boss six months ago that you needed to take off on May 5-11. He agreed. You made your travel plans, bought your tickets, and were all set to see your hero play for the first time at The PLAYERS.
Then you log onto PGATour.com on Tuesday and discover that Tiger’s had knee surgery and is going to be sidelined for at least 4-6 weeks. Too bad for you. No need to go into all of the ramifications. Suffice to say that Tiger’s just hit you with a major bummer.
Did it have to be this way? Not really, especially in light of a mountain of evidence that makes it clear that Woods should have had this procedure done months ago, and not in the heart of the golf season. (Continued)

The Timeline of Events Leading Up to Tiger Woods’ Surgery
April 19th, 2008
The lousy timing of Tiger Woods’ most recent surgery has been virtually ignored by the golf media. To date, the only person other than myself who thinks it is worth mentioning is the outspoken John Hawkins. On the Golf Channel he said that Tiger should have had it done last fall. It would have been the perfect time, as the time line of events below indicates. (Continued)

Tiger Woods Subject to Second Guessing
May 24th, 2008
If recovering to near full strength from an operation was a precise science, Tiger Woods’ decision to have surgery in the middle of the season would not be a disaster in the making, but it’s not. The original estimates called for 4-6 weeks of recovery time. The four week forecast came and went eleven days ago. The maximum date is this coming Tuesday, so Tiger is up against the outer limits of the timetable and the US Open is rapidly approaching. (Continued…)