Golf:

Following the injury, Woods went on to win five of the next six events he entered, including the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, the PGA Championship, the BMW Championship, the TOUR Championship and the Target World Challenge, while also finishing second at the Deutsche Bank Championship. He carried that streak over into 2008, winning his first four events of the season: the Buick Invitational; the Dubai Desert Classic; WGC-Accenture Match Play; and the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Woods rested the knee after his tournament, the Target World Challenge in early December, but was still feeling pain in early 2008.

After the Masters in April he had the surgery to clean out cartilage damage and it was discovered then the extent of the ACL damage. The doctor told Woods not to play in the U.S. Open, but Woods knew he wasn’t missing this tournament.

If it had been anywhere other than Torrey Pines, Woods probably would have skipped it. The San Diego course means so much to him and he has won the last four Buick Invitationals held there.

So this performance is bigger than Willis Reed coming out of the tunnel in the NBA Finals, bigger than Michael Jordan playing with the flu, bigger than Ken Venturi playing the U.S. Open with heat exhaustion. This might even rank up there as high as Jack Youngblood playing in the Super Bowl with a fractured leg.

We always knew Woods was the most talented golfer in the world. Now we know he is also the toughest.

For a golf tip on how to make short putts from Pelican Hill instruction director Glenn Deck, click here

JOHN REGER’S golf column appears Thursdays.