FOUR MORE MAJOR WINS OUT OF REACH FOR WOUNDED TIGER

FROM THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEBSITE
By KEVIN GARSIDE
No word yet from wounded knee. The condition of Tiger Woods was the talk of Sawgrass this morning. The game is gripped by the idea that Tiger's withdrawal from the Players Championship after nine holes has significance way beyond the limp.
His former coach Butch Harmon captured the Sawgrass mood. “I think his whole future is up in the air. Does it mean he needs more surgery? If he does who knows what is going to happen.”
The injuries to knee ligament and Achilles sustained five weeks ago at the Masters flared again at Sawgrass. In his haste to be ready for the U.S Open next month Woods rushed his return to championship golf.
He had not hit a ball until Monday this week, not played a hole until Tuesday. Medical expertise suggested he was ready, but that advice did not stand up to the scrutiny of play under pressure.
Though we have yet to see a medical bulletin it is clear that there is a long standing vulnerability in Woods's left peg. He has had five operations to cure ligament and cartilage problems, including reconstructive surgery after his U.S. Open victory in 2008.
Woods turns 36 at the end of this year. His golf game is predicated in athleticism and power. He is obviously impaired, therefore it is not unreasonable to speculate that his best days might be behind him.
The four majors he needs to match the magic number of 18 set by Jack Nicklaus looked a long way off watching him ascend the steps to the Sawgrass car park.
On the other hand Nicklaus won his last major at 46. That gives a reconstructed Woods ten years to close the gap.
Tiger was hitting the ball beautifully on the range at Augusta, suggesting his work with new coach Sean Foley was ready to bear fruit and end a winless run that stretches back to November 2009.
It's too early to write him off, but if that knee injury proves more serious than first believed, or requires further surgery, then it might prove one hurdle too many even for him.