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Surgery sidelines top golfer for the rest of 2008, including Bridgestone Invitational
By Marla Ridenour
Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Thursday, Jun 19, 2008
Area golf fans should take a quick look at a Bridgestone Invitational billboard. It will be the last sighting of Tiger Woods in Akron in 2008.
The king of Firestone said Wednesday he will undergo reconstructive surgery to repair the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and will miss the rest of the PGA Tour season.
Woods also revealed he has a double stress fracture in his left tibia that was discovered just before the Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio, last month. That injury was attributed to his intense rehab and preparation for the U.S. Open, which Woods won Monday in a 19-hole playoff with Rocco Mediate.
The world's No. 1 player, Woods has won six times at Firestone South, taking the NEC and now-Bridgestone Invitational titles in 1999-2001 and 2005-07. Of his more than $82 million in career earnings, $7.95 million has come at Firestone.
The only venue where he has recorded more victories is Torrey Pines, where he has won seven championships, including six Buick Invitationals and last week's Open.
Since it became a World Golf Championships event in 1999, the only other players to win at Firestone are Darren Clarke (2003) and Stewart Cink (2004), although Woods had to prevail in playoffs against Jim Furyk (2001) and Cink (2006). In a recent issue of Golf World magazine, Woods said he regarded the Bridgestone Invitational as his ''sixth major'' (behind the Players Championship).
Don Padgett III, the Bridge
stone Invitational's executive director, received a call from a member of the tour's public-relations staff late Wednesday morning with the news about Woods.
''It wasn't much before the whole world [knew],'' Padgett said.
Padgett remains confident that the $8 million event July 30-Aug. 3 will be ''a great show.''
Among the 72 players eligible as of Wednesday were Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia, Stuart Appleby and Masters Tournament champion Trevor Immelman. The field also will include three players who are signed with Bridgestone Sports: Appleby, Brandt Snedeker and Charles Howell III.
Last year, a record 84 men teed off in the no-cut tournament that will offer $1.44 million to the winner.
''We'll still have a great event,'' Padgett said. ''All the players we've all seen will still be on hand. I'm sure it will be a great competition over one of the most storied venues, Firestone South.''
Dan Murphy, senior director of marketing for Bridgestone Golf, said: ''With the local support we get in Akron, we expect to have a very successful event and a very strong field as usual. We're looking forward to it.
''It's disappointing the No. 1 player in the world is not going to be there. He's shown great appreciation for the Bridgestone Invitational and Firestone Country Club. This is obviously very significant. We'd love to have him as defending champion, but we think it's the best thing for him to take care of his health to get back to 100 percent. We'll see him in the future.''
There was much speculation Monday when Woods said he needed to ''shut it down for a little bit'' and probably would miss his own tournament, the AT&T National at Congressional (July 3-6), and the British Open (July 17-20) at Royal Birkdale in England. Now he also will be forced to sit out the PGA Championship at Oakland Hills, Mich., Aug. 7-10 and the Ryder Cup at Valhalla in Louisville, Ky., Sept. 19-21.
Woods couldn't hide the pain at the Open, with perhaps the most stark evidence coming after his tee shot at No. 2 on Sunday, when he doubled over after he hit and had to use his club as a crutch.
Some have suggested that Woods' left knee could be the biggest obstacle in his pursuit of Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 major championships. His triumph at Torrey Pines, which Woods called the greatest of his 65 victories, was his 14th major. Woods, 32, already has had three surgeries on the knee.
Asked if he's sad for Woods, Padgett said: ''It's the right thing for him to do. Looking at his career as a whole, he needs to get healthy. That's more important for him, looking at his entire career, than the next couple months.
''Everyone's disappointed he can't come, but he needs to do what's best for him.''
The Bridgestone Invitational has raised more than $18 million for Northeast Ohio Golf Charities since 1984. Padgett said ticket sales are ''tracking about where we've tracked in past years.''
An hour after learning the news, Padgett said the only change that might have to be made was the event's advertisement. The current one shows Woods and Mickelson.
''We always feature multiple guys,'' Padgett said. ''We're talking that through right now.''
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her Browns blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/browns/.
Area golf fans should take a quick look at a Bridgestone Invitational billboard. It will be the last sighting of Tiger Woods in Akron in 2008.
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