Tiger Woods: Blurring the Line Between Greatness and Stupidity

It has often been said that there is a link between greatness and stupidity. We all know that Tiger Woods is a golfing great, no matter whether you're a fan of him or not, but is he really that stupid?

Woods took time off after the Masters to "clean out" his knee and remove damaged cartilage that was a result of his long standing ACL problem. During his rehabilitation it was found that, for one reason or another, Woods had suffered a double stress fracture of the leg.

I should note here that this is not only the science bit, as they say, but that you'll hear enough about stress fractures over the next few days to last you a lifetime.

In an attempt to keep it simple, stress fractures are not a good thing. They come from constant pressure or a rapidly increased intensity of load on the affected area. In layman's terms, it's a fracture caused by stress.

Basically, Woods went too hard in an attempt to get back to fitness, or more seriously, he played for far too long on his affected knee and it stopped absorbing pressure, which was then transferred to his bones.

This I don't have a problem with. He was either so desperate to come back that he pushed too hard or he just went on too long with a persistent injury. Either way, he wouldn't be the first modern sportsman to do it.

However, Woods, against all medical advice, I'm presuming, was so steadfast that he decided to continue in a quest that would lead to victory at Torrey Pines.

This is what I have problem with!

Stress fractures are exactly what the name says. Continuing to put stress on the affected areas as Woods did, not for four but five days, would only have increased the damage and reduced the risk of a proper recovery. It also heightens the risk of re-injury.

Now as a result of his desperate quest, Woods is out for the rest of the season, missing not only two more "less important" majors, but also the Ryder Cup, the pinnacle of Euro-American golf.

That could, worryingly, only be the beginning. If the injury doesn't heal properly, for whatever reason, it could vastly reduce the amount of stress that is able to be put on the leg and possibly even call a major halt to Tiger's career.

Was winning at Torrey Pines really worth that much? I mean really worth risking your career for?

Golf will carry on—after all it's been going for centuries. In a month or so, Tiger Woods non-participation will only be a brief mention in telecasts of the majors and the Ryder Cup.

Whether we see him back and in what condition will only depend on what his winner-takes-all-mentality has done to his injury and how it affects his recovery.