Tiger's torn ACL

[cary lichtenstein]

For us laymen, this link gives all the info on what the ACL is and what Tiger's latest surgery will be:

www.ehealthmd.com/library/acltears/acl_whatis.html

[Steve Lang]

  Thanks for link..

- looks like 90% odds of attaining pre-injury capabilities.. ?

So twisting statistics may lead some to speculate:
- that instead of winning 33% of his tourneys, Tiger will only win 29.7%..  or whatever the numbers are.. 

- or his A game will now be a B+ game, still with enough potential to beat most if not all, given his C game..

[cary lichtenstein]

Gale Sayers tore his ACL, too.

If I remember correctly, being from Chicago myself, , after Gale Sayers tore his ACL his career was pretty much over

[Mark Bourgeois]

Man you guys are like a dog with a (tibia) bone on this.  Check it dogs: Peg Leg Tiger is going to kick butt.  Ha ha -- no, I'm serious.  It's like that when you play against a bunch of chumps.

Arrrgh, me mateys!

[Mark Bourgeois]

Right, his putter's not what it was in 2000 but it more than gets it done.

So he changes from a hitter to a swinger and gives up a few yards. The guy goes through swing changes like crap through a goose. What's one more?

He won a Brit Open hitting 4I....

[John Moore II]

Right, his putter's not what it was in 2000 but it more than gets it done.

So he changes from a hitter to a swinger and gives up a few yards. The guy goes through swing changes like crap through a goose. What's one more?

He won a Brit Open hitting 4I....

Mark-I totally agree about Tiger's putting. It is not nearly where it was in 1999-2001. But after seeing what he did on Saturday and Sunday, he might be getting some of it back. But certainly the last few years, the putter has been average (tour average mind you) at best.

[Jim Nugent]

Though we're swimming in a sea of uncertainty about Tiger's knee, some experts say it could come out stronger than ever.  That must be a terrifying thought for the rest of the pro's. 

JKM:  Tiger's putting has let him down at some key majors the past few years.  But he's only average?  Can't see it.  This year he is 3rd on tour in putts per GIR.  Last year he finished 4th.  In 2006 he finished T35th.  In 2005 he tied for 5th.  Those stats say to me he's still one of the very best putters out there. 

[John Moore II]

Jim--OK, so his putting goes to average when it really counts, when before it always seemed to be the best in the business. But where does he rank in total putts per round?

[Jim Nugent]

Jim--OK, so his putting goes to average when it really counts, when before it always seemed to be the best in the business. But where does he rank in total putts per round?

I don't think putts per round matter much.  If you miss a lot of greens, and have a good short game, you one-putt a lot.  That skews the number.  Putts per GIR works better IMO.  This year Tiger is 1st in GIR and 3rd in putts per GIR.  Astonishing combination of ball striking and putting.  He's also 1st in scrambling, or would be if he had enough rounds. 

Don't know how he has putted overall in the majors the past 3 1/2 years.  Would like to see the stats.  You're right that at times he has putted poorly, and that cost him some majors.  Still, he has won 6 of the last 14...finished 1st or 2nd in 10 of the last 14...top four 12 of the last 14.       

[Rick Shefchik]

While I've been in the "his swing might even be better" camp since the extent of the knee injury was revealed, I have to make the observation that no one becomes a better putter as they get older.

Tiger's as good with the putter as he's ever going to be (and better than anyone's ever been.) The question is, does he have enough margin of superiority to keep racking up majors if the driving distance contracts while the crucial putts fall less often?

I say yes, but I also say it will never be easy for him again.

[Mike_Clayton]

Rick.

Whilst its hard to argue people don't get better with the putter, Bob Charles - who is in the top 3 of all time - is still a great putter at 71.
It is because he has an almost flawless stroke that has never altered and he has always used exactly the same type of putter - an Acushnet centre-shaft with squared off toe and heel.
Tiger likewise has a technically flawless stroke and so far he has used the same putter for nine years.
It is also hard to imagine two men less afflicted by nerves on the green.
People putt worse as they get older because they have dodgy techniques and as the scar tissue of missing adds up they lose confidence and the nerves betray them.
I think it is probably why Nicklaus could alwaws putt and Palmer was horrible as he got older.

[A.G._Crockett]

Gale Sayers tore his ACL, too.

 
 
Actually, Sayers tore a bunch of stuff, not just the ACL.  BUT it did NOT end his career;  he came back the next year and led the league in rushing.  Then he had a second injury to the other knee that basically finished him.

Chipper Jones tore his ACL, too.  Since then he has hit 400 HR's, driven in 100 or more runs nine times, and, as of today, is hitting .393 on his way to Cooperstown.

A major-league hitter might be a better comparison for golf than a guy who was running for his life after being repaired by medical science now nearly a half-century old. 

[Tommy Williamsen]

I have had both my ACLs replaced.  One in 1991 and the other in 1997.  I tore them skiing.  The dr took my patella tendon and turned it into a ligament.  The strength in my knee is better than it was before I tore it.  In fact my dr said that the post surgery strength is 150 percent of of pre injury strength.  the key is  doing the rehab properly.  No doubt Tiger will do it well.