Stenson says goodbye to a trusty friend â€" his 3-wood

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. – Forget the wind, the tough set up, or anything else … Tiger Woods put it bluntly by saying, “You don’t win major championships by kind of slapping all around the place and missing putts.â€� It was a frank assessment of the 14-time major champions 78-72 efforts at Shinnecock Hills that left him 10-over par and almost certainly missing the weekend. But the 79-time PGA TOUR winner, whose major drought now will extend past the 10-year mark, will not be alone when it comes to big names heading home early. Two-time major winner and former PLAYERS champion Martin Kaymer (+18) and other major winners like Ernie Els (+17), Keegan Bradley (+15), Sergio Garcia (+14) and Adam Scott (+13) are likely already heading off the south fork. World No. 5 Jon Rahm (+15) is also cutting his time in New York short. It is increasingly likely that Rory McIlroy, Bubba Watson and Jason Day will join them while Jordan Spieth and Phil Mickelson are in the midst of a battle on their back nine holes to have a chance. “I’m not very happy the way I played and the way I putted,â€� Woods added. It took two closing birdies just to get it to 10 under. Starting on the 10th hole Woods shot even par on his first nine holes thanks to two birdies and two bogeys before once again making a mess of the par-4 1st. A day after making a triple bogey from the middle of the fairway Woods made double bogey, once again after a good tee shot. Further bogeys on the second and fifth holes killed off his chances before he finally showed a little of the old magic late. “I wanted to shoot something around 68, 67. I thought that would have been a great score,â€� Woods said of his pre-round mentality. “I looked at it as kind of progressively putting myself back into position. I couldn’t chase down the leaders right away. It’s going to take me probably two and a half to three rounds to do it. Unfortunately, I went the other way.â€� Despite the setback Woods said he “absolutelyâ€� felt he could still win majors and retorted to a skeptic, “have you seen the way I’ve been swinging?â€� His next start will be the Quicken Loans National in two weeks where he will host with his foundation. To contend there he knows he needs to improve his putting. “Unfortunately, it’s just what I’ve done the last few events. I just haven’t putted well. If I would have putted like I did the beginning of the year with this ball striking, that would be ideal. Unfortunately, I just haven’t done that,â€� he added. “I haven’t made those key ones to keep the momentum going, or if I have any positive momentum, I miss a putt and derail it. I just haven’t made those key putts in the last few events.â€�

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Tiger Woods announced today that he had an arthroscopic procedure last week on his left knee to repair minor cartilage damage. “I expect Tiger to make a full recovery,â€� said Dr. Verne Cooley, who performed the surgery. “We did what was needed, and also examined the entire knee. There were no additional problems.â€� Said Woods: “I would like to thank Dr. Cooley and his team. I’m walking now and hope to resume practice in the next few weeks. I look forward to traveling and playing in Japan in October.â€� He has committed to play next at The ZOZO Championship in Chiba, Japan, Oct. 24-27. Although his back has been the focus of concern for much of the last six-plus years, this marks the fifth time that Woods, 43, has had his left knee operated on.  “If it’s not one thing, it’s another,â€� he said at the BMW Championship. “Things just pop up.â€� Woods’ first left-knee operation was to remove a benign tumor in 1994. The second and third were arthroscopic procedures in 2002 and in April of 2008. He was told of two stress fractures in his tibia in May of 2008, won the U.S. Open in June, and eight days later had a fourth surgery, on his ACL. He missed the remainder of the 2008 season. For a player who missed significant time from 2014-17, when he had successful back-fusion surgery, Woods has been relatively healthy the last two seasons.     At the 2018 TOUR Championship at East Lake he notched his long-awaited 80th victory, the exclamation point on a terrific comeback season for a player whose career once seemed to be over. His 2019 season was highlighted by his Masters Tournament victory, his 15th major title. That was mostly it, though, for his 2018-19 season as Woods admitted to being worn out by the heroic victory at Augusta National. He missed the cut at the PGA Championship at Bethpage, and was T21 at the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, despite having won on both courses. He missed the cut at The Open Championship, and withdrew from THE NORTHERN TRUST with a mild oblique strain. Although he won the 1999 and 2006 PGA Championships at Medinah, Woods never contended there, either, with a T37 at the BMW. At 42nd in the FedExCup, his season was over. When healthy, Woods is still a formidable player; he’s still ranked eighth in the world. He will captain the U.S. Team at the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne this December, and has not ruled out playing on that team himself.

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