The supreme champions, however, tend to rise to physical challenges. Vardon won two British Opens after a long bout with tuberculosis. Hogan lost much of his amazing athleticism after his car accident but found a way to win six majors in the three years after his return. Even Jack Nicklaus, the most untouched by fate among the greats prior to Woods, had a troublesome hip problem as early as 1963 and sacrificed some of his power after losing weight in 1970. The best years of his career were the succeeding five.
"Whatever I lost, I made accommodations for," Nicklaus said at the Memorial. "If Tiger has to, I'm sure he will make accommodations. My guess is he won't have to." If he is right, the odds are Woods will come out as he did after his last operation, winning at Torrey Pines in 2003.
It's possible, of course, that we have seen the best of Tiger Woods. But based on everything we know about the man, it is more probable that the path will keep going up.
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