Hobbled Woods reaches yet another level

That admission stopped everybody, no doubt including several suits at PGA Tour headquarters, squarely in their tracks. As for whether his decision to play this week caused more damage, he isn't yet sure.

"Maybe," he said.

He sure didn't tweak it further by over-preparing. Despite his pre-tournament assurances that he was dialed in and ready to play, Woods had never been less ready for a major championship. Haney said Monday that because of the surgery, Woods never hit more than 50 balls in any pre-Open practice session.

"We used to practice for 12 hours a day," Haney said, shaking his head.

Even more amazingly, because of his tender knee, Woods never bent down to read a putt until Thursday's first round began.

Haney recounted a conversation he had with Woods the weekend before they got to Torrey Pines, where Woods had won four consecutive Buick Invitational titles heading into the Open.

"I asked him Saturday and Sunday, 'Can you even read a putt?'" Haney said. "He said, 'I know these greens pretty good.'

"I said, 'Well, will you try one for me?'

"He said, 'I'll try when I get there.'"

As the tournament began, Haney could sense two things. First, that Woods was getting it done with bailing wire, paper clips, cellophane tape and aspirin. He was all over the place. But just as important, Woods was finding a way to fake his way into contention at the most demanding tournament on earth.

"I can kind of sense when he's in the mode to figure something out," Haney said.

With 24,000 fans helping to push him along Monday, Woods blew a three-shot lead with eight holes to play and had to birdie the 18th to force sudden-death overtime, which he won with a par. For one-legged Woody, as though his situation wasn't uncomfortable enough, it was the tournament that wouldn't end.

It was truly epic in both length and scope.

"I don't think anybody will ever know what he was feeling this week, except for him and his doctor," longtime agent Mark Steinberg said as Woods accepted the trophy on the 18th green. "Use any cliché in the book you want, because he touched them all this week."

Where Woods goes from here is open to question. Woods had insisted for two weeks that he'd have been ready to play this week, major championship or not. Now he says he's going to shut it down for the indefinite future, leaving his upcoming commitments this month to play in the Buick Open and AT&T National very much in question.

Given the very real possibility that Woods' knee isn't going to improve over the long haul, and in fact might deteriorate, fans had better get used to the prospect of cameo appearances and a truncated schedule going forward.

Relish these moments while you can, because even Woods doesn't know what the future holds. After battling to win his most memorable major title, the future has never looked less certain.

So, see you at the British Open?

"To be honest with you," Woods said, "I really don't know."