Tiger's limp might be a permanent addition to his game

It's possible what Woods is experiencing this week is nothing more than the hangover and swelling from his surgery eight weeks ago. He can be a bit of a drama queen at times. But this is beginning to feel like something far more serious than a guy with a slightly low pain threshold and itchy stitches in his leg.

This is the verbatim exchange I had with the guy after his 2-over 73 on Sunday, when he limped so much at times on the front nine, he had to dose up with meds to get through the day.

Q: You've been pretty forthcoming about the knee thing all week, so let me throw this one at you: Is what you're experiencing right now residual soreness from the surgery or is this the way it's going to be, forever and ever?

Woods: "It's different."

Q. What does that mean? You don't know the answer?

Woods: "I know."

That was it. He wouldn't budge, prompting many in the room to believe that if this were only a temporary issue, he would say it. Moreover, when his longtime manager, Mark Steinberg, was asked Sunday whether the knee issue could linger for the remainder of Woods' career, he actually shrugged.

"I don't know," Steinberg said.

Conclusively, neither do we at this point. Their answers leave a lot of lines left to read through, plenty of gray area. Being vague and evasive is part of Woods' nature whenever he's pressed on uncomfortable issues, of course.

His left knee, as the world saw this week, feels as uncomfortable as hell with an extra blowtorch.

Woods has the highest measured swing speed on the PGA Tour, subjecting his left knee to unimaginable amounts of torque while his foot is planted firmly in the turf. He changed his swing three years ago partly to lessen the possibility of such an injury. Maybe another change will be forthcoming, this one borne of necessity.

No question, though he has played pogo-stick golf on one leg this week, he has still been good enough to tie for the 72-hole lead at the toughest event in the world, proving that Woods can beat most guys with one leg tied behind his back. Hopefully, the knee won't deteriorate further, but after three procedures, that seems like wishful thinking.

Monday, a 45-year-old man with a bad back that nearly drove him from the game last year, Mediate, will face a gimpy-legged 32-year-old who is popping pills between shots. One is ranked No. 158 in the world, the other tops the charts.

At this point, it looks like a dead heat, really -- words I never thought I would say about Woods and a player with five career victories and a spine that sounds like falling dominos when he gets out of bed.

May the guy with more aspirin win. At this point, for Woods, it's looking like an ibuprofen bottle will be as indispensable to his future as his trusty putter.