Where Will We See Him Next?

Pain game: Woods winces after a great escape Friday (above) and after a tee shot Sunday afternoon (below). Photos: Dom Furore, J.D. Cuban

"As far as future ramifications, I'm not really good at listening to doctor's orders too well," Woods admitted after his victory. Asked if doctors told him before the Open that he could further injure the knee by playing, Woods nodded affirmatively. Well, then, did he indeed injure it? "Maybe," he said.

Woods pushed with everything he had at Torrey, especially his most well-known attributes. His mental toughness was exhibited in the patience and composure he showed toward his many mistakes, as if he had steeled himself in advance to accept that he was going to hit some dumb shots. His knee injury didn't cost him any distance, or presumably, clubhead speed, as he ranked second in the field in driving distance for the week with a 320-yard average. To compensate for the miscues, he produced more moments of sheer brilliance than normal, adding to a highlight reel (we're talking about bona fide, jaw-dropping moments) that is arguably already longer than any other athlete's in history.

But it also made us curious about things we don't know, but may find out soon enough. Woods reacted to pain so vividly during certain stages of his rounds that watching him make a full swing was wince-inducing. As demonstrative as he was, Woods also stubbornly held to the athlete's code of staying verbally stoic about injury.

"All athletes deal with injuries, and that's just part of playing sports," said Woods. "Sports isn't usually kind to the body. Weird things happen, and that's just the way it is. There are never any excuses, you just go play."

When pressed for more, Woods came up with little beyond his default answer of "it is what it is." All week he shadowboxed with the press on the issue, Woods ducking and feinting and seeming to enjoy it as golf scribes failed to land a glove.

"People want to know," he acknowledged. "People are curious. All I can tell you is that it's sore. It is what it is. Nothing more, nothing less."

In a relatively generous moment, Woods allowed that the knee did in fact hurt his game, even though the pain came after impact. "It does affect it," Woods said. "There are certain shots that I'll feel it. And you can't say it's the drive, you can't say it's the wedge, because I don't know which one it's going to happen on. But if pain hits, pain hits. So be it. It's just pain."

After his 73 Sunday, there was this intriguing exchange with a reporter who asked Woods if his knee condition was simply soreness from surgery or "Is it the way it is forever and ever?"

"It's different," Woods said tersely.

To the follow-up "You don't know?" Woods answered, "I know."

The guy just isn't going to give it up. Slightly more forthcoming was swing instructor Hank Haney. "He's not impaired, and I'm not worried long term," Haney said. "I was more apprehensive going into this week because he wasn't really prepared. He has laid off before, but never without preparing. But he just couldn't this time."

Prepared or not, Haney said Woods was bound and determined not to miss the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, where he had won six previous professional tournaments. "After he didn't play at Memorial, when it looked like he might not be able to play at Torrey, he just said, 'I'm playing in and winning the U.S. Open.' And there was no more discussion. And then he somehow found a way to win. I agree it's his greatest victory, by far. He doesn't surprise me. But he never ceases to amaze me."