Tiger Woods spoke at a press conference this morning about the upcoming AT&T National, a tournament that he hosts. And while that was talked about, there were other issues that dominated the press conference, specifically Tiger's injured knee, and his availability for upcoming tournaments, including the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional in Bethesda.
Tiger says that he had been resting, and had spent the last week or so in a boot and on crutches. The boot to help with his ailing Achilles tendon, and the crutches to prevent any back pain that may stem from limping on a walking boot. But he also said that he is doing everything he can to get ready for Congressional, and that his doctors are confident that he will be able to play in the U.S. Open.
Towards the end of the press conference he was asked probably the most important question; is there any way that you could see yourself not playing at Congressional? "Yeah, there is, absolutely. But I'm not going to say that I'm looking at it that way. I'm certainly looking at it that with the proper treatment, the proper rehab I'll be ready. And that's what I'm trying to do."
He was asked about his long term thoughts about the knee, but he said that his only focus is on the U.S. Open, "anything beyond that, I don't know."
He was asked if he needed to be pain free to play in the U.S. Open and quipped that he hadn't been pain free in a long time. So he might be ready to play, but he isn't going to be completely healed.
He had yet to address the Memorial tournament that starts a week from Thursday, and while he wouldn't rule it out, he did say that it was doubtful. Based on how much he talked about playing at Congressional and making that his focus, it seems that he isn't really even thinking about playing at that tournament.
Despite tweeting that he would donate $1 million to the Tiger Woods foundation if no one asked him about his knee during the press conference, it was the first question he got. The tournament organizer responded with, "there goes the donation," but then Tiger was free to talk about what everyone wanted him to.
So we can expect to see tiger at the 2011 U.S. Open. But it doesn't appear that he will be at full strength, or maybe even able to complete the tournament. But if you have tickets, you will most likely see him there.