Tiger Says Knee is "Right on Schedule"

Tiger Woods saw his doctors in Utah on Wednesday for a two-week checkup on his surgically-repaired left knee.

"It went great," said Woods, who underwent arthroscopic surgery on April 15. "Everything is right on schedule."

Woods, 32, said he's ready to begin his rehabilitation, but he isn't sure when he will return to competition. Ideally, he would like to play in a tournament before the U.S. Open, June 12-15 at Torrey Pines Golf Course near San Diego, possibly two weeks earlier at the Memorial Tournament.

"The doctors said I should be able to play in 4 to 6 weeks after the surgery, but there are no guarantees about anything right now," said Woods. "I'm just going to work hard and do what they tell me to do."

Initially, Woods used crutches and wore a knee brace. The crutches are gone now, and he attended Game 5 of the Orlando Magic's Eastern Conference quarterfinals series against the Toronto Raptors on Monday night.

Despite a strong start this season--three wins, a second at the Masters and a fifth at Doral to lead the PGA Tour's money list by almost $2 million over No. 2 Phil Mickelson--Woods has been playing in pain and knew surgery was necessary.

"The knee has been bugging me for a while," he said. "The only decision was: do you miss the Masters or play in the Masters? I decided to play. Even if I had won, I still would have had the surgery."

--Mark Soltau