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Can golf turn Woods' absence into a positive?
Pro: Time for a true rival to get his game together
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Charlie Riedel / AP Tiger Woods was holding his left knee a lot during his remarkable U.S. Open victory. He will require more surgery and will miss the rest of the 2008 season, which includes two majors.
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Whew! That was close.
The sun didn't fall out of the sky. Earth didn't spin off its axis and take a left at Pluto. Hey, life really does go on.
Tiger Woods announced this week that serious leg issues, including impending surgery for a torn ligament in his left knee, will force him to the sidelines for a long as nine months.
That golf will miss its top player and No. 1 attraction is without question. At least two majors will be conducted without him. So, too, will the Ryder Cup.
But the sport will survive, if for no better reason than Woods will return. Beyond that, can golf find positives, even thrive in the prolonged absence of the Greatest Ever?
Yes, for sure.
There's little doubt television ratings will flag and attendance will suffer, at least initially. But golf, in the long run, might reap benefits from Woods' injury-imposed sabbatical.
The main downside to his incredible performances is that it amounts to a virtual stranglehold on the sport of golf.
Woods, of course, is Walking History every time he plays. Watch Tiger this week surpass ... Hogan ... Palmer ... Nicklaus!
About the only thing missing from Woods' game is a legitimate rival in the here and now.
It was supposed to be Sergio Garcia, or Ernie Els or Phil Mickelson. We're still waiting.
Instead, the most compelling theater in the Woods Era is posed when a lesser known — like Rocco Mediate — rises up to post a challenge.
Maybe, just maybe, a worthy rival now has the opportunity to emerge.
With Woods on the sidelines, the door opens for one or two or three golfers to ramp up their games and step into the void.
A dramatic victor in the British Open, for example, would inevitably raise the question: What if Tiger was there?
It's been great fun to watch Tiger chase history. But it certainly would be better drama if Tiger could lock up with a serious rival.
The greatness of both Nicklaus and Palmer was enhanced by each other. Magic had Bird. Ali had Frazier.
If golf can produce a worthy adversary for Tiger, then so much the better for the sport.
And Tiger, too.
— Loren Ledin is a staff writer for The Star. E-mail address: lledin@VenturaCountyStar.com.
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