Not a whole lot was made of it at the time, but there were some telling comments last week at AT&T National, which was supposed to be hosted by Tiger Woods in Bethesda, Md.
Woods couldn't show because of his recuperation from knee surgery, but he was interviewed on CBS by Verne Lundquist and Nick Faldo:
Lundquist:
Tiger, almost two weeks from the surgery, what is the degree of discomfort that you're feeling right now?
Woods:
Well, I'm not liking it very much. I'll tell you that. It probably peaked about two days ago at its worst. I think I'm the good side now. I'm actually able to sleep more than an hour in a row now. So, I'm doing better.
Lundquist:
The surgery was on June 24th, ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) surgery, there was a graft involved, could you just explain exactly what the doctors in Salt Lake did to perform this operation?
Woods:
What they did was take my hamstring tendon out of my right leg and inserted it into my left as my new ACL. They repaired some cartilage damage that I had also sustained during the time I was playing. Also a couple of other little things, but other than that, I'm good to go.
Faldo:
Tiger, you're planning on taking six months off, I believe. At the moment I've heard you say you are having great difficulty walking, how are you planning on getting the golf game back into sync ready for next season?
Woods:
As of right now, I don't know. Right now I just hope I can get up out of bed and go to the bathroom. Little things like that are a challenge. For me to actually think about playing golf, that is so far away, I'm just looking forward to actually walking again and putting weight on this leg for the first time. That is still a ways off. As far as golf is concerned, I really don't know. I don't know how my body is going to heal from this. I don't know the timetable for that, when I'll be able to return, when I can start rotating on it, when I can start loading the leg a little bit. From there you obviously have your practice sessions, your prep and ultimately playing in tournaments. So, I don't know how long that is going to be.
Faldo:
Do you believe in the line, 'Things happen for a reason'? To be dealt this card at this stage in your career, you're forced to take this time off, what are your feelings about that?
Woods:
It is what it is. You deal with it. Playing at the Open, the intent was to actually go through the end of the season, then have the reconstruction done. After sustaining the stress fractures coming back, I decided to bag it. Going into the Open, I knew that was going to be my last event for the year. So from that standpoint it was disappointing because I was really looking forward to some of the venues coming up; the British Open, the PGA Championship, the Ryder Cup, and the rest of the season. Then again, I get to be at home with Sam and watch her grow and develop. From that standpoint, it's been a lot of fun.
Lundquist:
Tiger, you've talked about the physical discomfort, how are you dealing with this emotionally, painfully?
Woods:
That's the frustrating thing. Everyone knows, I'm pretty fired up. I like to move and keep it going. Sitting still for me is not an easy thing to do, but now I don't have a choice. As I said, a couple of days ago it wasn't very fun. But I'm on the good side now. I can actually start sleeping more than an hour at a time now. I get a little bit more rest, which is good. I've been laid up everyday all day. I move from the bedroom to the couch back to the bedroom and maybe a few bathroom stops along the way. But that's pretty much how my day goes.
Faldo:
Two months without playing in a tournament, how did you win (U.S. Open)?
Woods:
I don't know. I really don't know how I pulled that off.
Faldo:
Compared to your normal work regime, how did you win with such little practice?
Woods:
I don't know. That's one of the things we can't really figure out. I could hit balls for maybe two, three, four balls at a time then have to sit down in the cart because the stress fractures were giving me pain. Once the pain subsided, I could go back and hit two, three, four more balls and that was pretty much my day for a half-hour of that. Then I'd go home and I was pretty much done for the day. That is how I got ready for the Open. At least I was going to a golf course I knew (Torrey Pines) and a golf course I felt comfortable on. I knew all the breaks on the greens. I just needed to get to the green.
Lundquist:
How tough is it to not be here where you're the host for the second year?
Woods:
It's very disappointing. It's my tournament. I want to be there. Flying is not exactly the best thing for me because I can't get the swelling down, so I had to stay here and text message and call everyone, blow up their phones to see what is going on up there every step of the way. Everyone is probably getting annoyed with me since I'm calling all the time. I feel bad that I can't be there and support what AT&T, and everyone at the Congressional has done, all the military personnel who have come out there that are volunteers, and all the people that have made this a special event. I can't come up there and shake their hands to even say hello and thank you. I do feel guilty from that standpoint. And it is a little more difficult than I thought it would be.
Lundquist:
You must take a lot of pride in how this has benefiting the Tiger Woods Foundation?
Woods:
It's been incredible. The way this tournament has been received by the players, the local community and how they've come out; having Condoleeza Rice come out yesterday. It touches my heart because I grew up in a military household. My dad was special forces. We're at war right now overseas, so to have all the personnel come out and watch and support the event, it's our way of saying thank you. We don't say thank you enough for what they do for our country. This is our small way of saying thank you.
