Wednesday, January 31, 2001
Woods injures knee amid crush
of fans
By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Tiger Woods
sprained a ligament in his left knee Wednesday when he stepped
awkwardly on a man's ankle while leaving the 18th green at Pebble
Beach. He said he was not sure if he would be able to play this
week.
Woods, still limping two hours after the
accident, was asked what the odds were that he would be unable
to defend his title in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
“They're up there,” he said. “We'll
see what happens.”
Woods was swarmed by autograph seekers as
he left the 18th green, walking briskly and trying to sign whatever
programs and hats where thrust in front of him.
One man, who had been hounding him for autographs
during his practice round, tried to position himself in front
of the pack, and Woods' inadvertently stepped on his ankle, hyperextending
his knee.
“A lot of fans just kind of came down
on top of me,” Woods said. “One guy ran in front. I
stepped on his ankle, and my weight going forward and his weight
coming back ... I hyperextended my knee.”
Woods winced immediately, glowered at the
man and grabbed the back of his leg as he hobbled up a hill. He
tried to hit balls after lunch, but couldn't.
“No way,” Woods said.
Woods, the No. 1 player in the world coming
off a record-breaking season that included three straight major
championships among his nine PGA Tour victories, is often swamped
by fans after rounds.
A security detail was with him, but some
fans went under the ropes and tried to get close.
“People get aggressive. That's the
way it is,” Woods said. “That's one reason we have security.
Some of you say, 'Why do you have so much security?' It's for
instances like this, so they don't happen. Unfortunately, it happened
today.”
The man never did get his autograph and
“he yelled at me for not signing,” Woods said.
Woods said the physical therapists in the
fitness trailer told him he had sprained a ligament in his knee.
He planned to rest and would determine Thursday whether he could
play. Woods and his good friend Jerry Chang are scheduled to tee
off at 8 a.m. at Spyglass Hill with Mark O'Meara and Ken Griffey
Jr.
This is the second time Woods has been injured
since turning pro. He had what turned out to be a stinger in his
left hand at the 1999 Tour Championship in Houston when he tried
to hit through a baseball-sized rock to get to his ball.
Woods also had a cyst removed from behind
his left knee while at Stanford.
Woods is trying to become the first player
since Jack Nicklaus in 1972-73 to win three straight events on
the same course.
He won the Pebble Beach Pro-Am last year,
coming from seven strokes behind with seven strokes to play. In
June, he demolished the field in the U.S. Open to win by 15 strokes,
the largest margin of victory in major championship history.
Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
Send the URL (Address)
of This Story to A Friend:
|
