Great news, Tiger Woods fans! According to his swing coach and unofficial spokesperson, Hank Haney, the planet's best golfer is fine and dandy despite the fact that, you know, it sounds like he's not.
But just because Eldrick won't be swinging a club until 2009 isn't a cause for concern -- nor is it a reason for Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh et al to get their hopes up -- at least to hear Haney tell it.
"He's not behind schedule," Woods coach Hank Haney said yesterday. "I think people thought, 'It's Tiger Woods, he'll be back in two months.' But it just doesn't work that way." ...Apparently, not even the world's finest robots can rebound from knee surgery in a few months. I had no idea. Whatever, when Woods does return to the tour, Haney is convinced that "he'll be back better than ever." No idea if Haney's contract stipulates that he must say that at least once per public appearance or if he truly believes that, but there are concerns that Era of Tiger could be behind us.
"He's doing really good with his rehab," Haney said. "He feels good about it. I talked to him [Sunday] night for a long time on the phone and he's making great progress, working hard. He's in the pool, on the bike. The ACL is a long rehab - that's just the way it is."
