Tiger Woods' Return Will Rest On The Most Obvious Question Of Them All

As the 2009 season quickly approaches there is one question on everyone’s mind: How will Tiger Woods recover from his knee surgery?

Any time the name "Tiger Woods" is mentioned, it is sure to be follow by opinions and in-depth analysis as to when he will return to the PGA Tour and what kind of player he will be post-reconstructive knee surgery.

As displayed clear as day in the form of utterly abysmal television ratings after Woods went down with the knee injury following his now legendary win at the US Open, the vast majority of fans are interested in golf only when Tiger Woods is in the field.

So, be assured that aside from the fans, the PGA Tour and even the players are holding their breath as they wait to see if Woods can make a full recovery and return to his pre-surgery form, because lets be honest, Woods is their golden ticket.

Woods draws the fans, sponsors and television ratings, which in turn has resulted in the massive increase in available prize money and has increased the number of PGA Tour millionaires tenfold.

There are many variables that could possibly contribute to how and when Woods will return to his pre-surgery form. 

Will he need to make any drastic swing changes to alleviate the pressure on his surgically repaired left knee?

Will his recent hiatus make him reevaluate his priorities in life?

Will he have lost the drive to compete?

Will his knee physically allow him to put in the absurdly long practice hours he has become accustomed to when preparing for tournament play? 

However, there is only one real question that’s answer should be sufficient enough to answer any and all other questions about Woods’ return.

How will his knee physically hold up? 

We have to remember the ultimate purpose of Woods’ reconstructive ACL surgery was to repair an injured knee; an action that should be viewed as positive rather than negative.

Sure, many complications could arise from a significant medical procedure such as reconstructive ACL surgery.

However, this is a surgery done so often now, it has become almost routine, and be assured the man cutting Woods’ billion dollar knee open was most likely one of the best and most experienced surgeons in the business.

The likelihood of Woods making a full recovery from a surgery that has become this common in sports is probably greater than the likelihood that Woods will never be the same player again.

After rejoining the PGA Tour in 2009, it might very well take Woods a few months to get back in the swing of things, pardon the pun.

However, if Woods’ knee is not physically prohibiting his ability to swing the golf club, what reason do we have to believe that Woods will not continue to dominate the PGA Tour? 

Even if Woods knee does happen to give him some pain and discomfort during the second half of his career, what is to say he still won’t continue to dominate as he had before his surgery?

Woods tore his ACL while running near his Orlando home the week after the 2007 British Open.

From that point, Woods went on to win an astounding nine out of his next 12 events before shutting it down for the year after his win at the 08’ US Open.  

Plainly put, that is a 75 percent winning percentage while playing on a torn ACL. 

Now, one image that often comes to mind when thinking about Woods’ recovery is the tremendous amount of pain he was in during the 2008 US Open which at times was tough to even watch.

However, the extreme pain Woods was playing through had more to do with two stress fractures he had sustained in his fibula while frantically trying to prepare for the US Open after a minor knee surgery to clean out some cartilage.

At Torrey Pines, Woods’ pain was essentially coming from a different injury than his torn ACL; an injury Woods has confirmed is now completely healed.

So, we can sit here and analyze any and every possible scenario that could affect Woods return and the second half of his career.

But, the fact of the matter is if Tiger Woods’ knee is physically healthy upon his return, there is no reason to believe he will not quickly reclaim his customary position as the best player in the world and continue along on his almost eerily predestined path to becoming the greatest player of all-time, if he is not already there.