| Tiger Woods of the U.S. reacts after hitting his second shot on the ninth hole during first round play of The Players Championship golf tournament at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, in this file picture taken May 12, 2011. (Reuters |
Tiger Woods, who limped out of the Players Championship last Thursday after only nine holes, said Monday he expects to play in next month’s US Open and will do all he can to get well in time. Woods, golf’s former world number one, has not won in 18 months since his infamous sex scandal erupted. He has been nagged by injuries, the latest to his left knee and Achilles tendon in the third round of last month’s Masters. “Bummed that my left leg has me on the sidelines, but I want, and expect, to be at the US Open. Will do all I can to get there,” Woods posted on his Twitter microblogging website Monday evening. Woods had not played golf in four weeks after hurting himself in the Masters, where he finished fourth for the second year in a row, and his quick exit renewed questions about his future. Woods, a 14-time major champion, is chasing the all-time record of 18 major titles won by Jack Nicklaus. But Woods is in the longest win drought of his career and the longest major win drought of his career. His next chance for a major crown will come next month at the US Open at Congressional Country Club near Washington, where he hosted and won a PGA event until the revelations of his affairs on ex-wife Elin Nordegren. At the Players, the US PGA’s richest event with a $9.5mn purse, Woods fired a 42 on the front nine, playing five-over par in his first five holes. “The knee acted up and then the Achilles followed after that and then the calf started cramping up,” Woods said last Thursday. “Everything started getting tight, so it’s just a whole chain reaction.” Woods said he was surprised that the injuries had flared up. “The Achilles and knee would be sore, but you’re not worse than what icing and treatment wouldn’t do at night,” Woods said. “Felt fine during warm-up, and then as I played, it progressively got worse.” Woods, 35, has already undergone four operations on his left knee, including major reconstructive surgery after limping through a playoff to win the 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines. He has not won a major crown since.