Tiger Woods and His Trick Knee Aiming and Hoping for the U.S. Open

Tiger Woods, the owner of golf's most famous trick knee, is telling us he'll play in the U.S. Open at Congressional next month, and by quick math, it's 30 days until he has to stand on the first tee and hit a real live driver again.

The propaganda home for Eldrick T. Woods, also known as TigerWoods.com, says so.

"I'll do whatever is necessary to play in the U.S. Open and I'm hopeful I can be there to compete," is how the TigerWoods.com website gremlins worded this one, probably in concert with the PR gremlins at IMG and other assorted members of what is described these days as the "Tiger Woods camp."

Didn't realize that a $75 million compound on ritzy Jupiter Island over on our east coast of Florida could be described as a "camp." Not sure Woods has ever been camping in his life, and he surely doesn't these days, which makes you wonder why we ever refer to it as the Tiger Woods "camp."

It's more like the Tiger Woods mafia, isn't it? Admission doesn't come easy but it's easy to get booted out of the "camp."

Tiger's version of the the former Soviet Union's TASS news agency, tells us there is "no definitive time frame for healing but Woods will likely play in the U.S. Open at Congressional Country Club June 16-19."

Then the bad news for Jack Nicklaus' Memorial tournament: "It is doubtful he'll compete in the Memorial."

Which basically tells us Woods will enter the Open dead, solid, cold, no rounds under his broken belt buckle, no four-day march anywhere to test the stability of the world's most famous injured limb, no test for what appears to be a very fragile short game.

No nothing.

Just show up, tee up and play.

"I'm hopeful I can be there to compete," is the written word, supposedly a quote of some sort from Woody.

And that in and of itself is how the mighty has fallen, how everything has changed so much these days in the Shaky Life and Times of Eldrick T. Woods.

We're all so used to the guy who used to show up, not to "compete" but to dominate, win and generally kick everyone's butt.

Now, he "hopes to compete."

And there's an old saying on Wall Street that goes:  "Hope is your worst enemy in the marketplace."

Same goes for golf. 

Just hit and hope?