US Open: A Scenario Not Spoken About

With the US Open at Torrey Pines quickly approaching, Tiger Woods finally began playing some holes yesterday although he has yet to play a full round of golf since arthroscopic knee surgery the day after the conclusion the Masters.

Golf analysts far and wide have been offering their insight on how Woods will perform next week.

Many believe that Woods is so dominant at Torrey Pines that even with an injury affecting his swing, he can still win the tournament.

Others believe that the long layoff combined with a tender knee will severely inhibit Woods’ powerful swing thus limiting his ability to perform at the Open—raising the possibility that he might not make the cut.

Woods could very well show up at Torrey Pines and dominate the field despite his injury and lack of practice over the past two months.

Woods could also very well show up and miss the cut.

But few have spoken about another scenario that seems to be almost taboo to even mention.

That scenario being that Woods might not even play in the Open.

Over the past few years we have clearly seen that Tiger Woods makes decisions with one goal in mind—giving himself the best chance to win tournaments and particularly giving himself the best chance to break Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 major victories.

Nothing else, including pressure from sponsors, the PGA Tour and the media factor into Woods’ decision.

Woods has an uncanny ability to see the big picture when it comes to his career.

Woods probably has another ten years of his prime remaining, and his plan for those ten years is simple—break Nicklaus’ record of 18 major victories.

Although everyone, possibly excluding the rest of the field at the Open, wants to see Tiger Woods return for the US Open, and he has continually said that he is on schedule to participate in the Open, don’t think for a moment that Woods will not withdraw from the tournament if he has even an inkling that he could re-injure his knee by playing.

Woods is solely concerned with the big picture, that being Jack’s record of major wins.

Deciding to withdraw from the Open would be a major disappointment for Woods, but if it helps him in moving towards his ultimate goal, it is a decision that Woods would make with ease.