Don't second-guess Tiger's decision to play at Torrey

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Yes, it was worth the risk. Absolutely.

That's what you're asking, isn't it?

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Was the U.S. Open gain worth all of Tiger Woods' pain?

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In the wake of Tiger Woods' announcement Wednesday that he'll sit out the rest of this year after having reconstructive surgery on the anterior cruciate ligament of his troublesome left knee, you might be wondering whether Tiger should have put his health in jeopardy to play in the U.S. Open.

After all, following his win Monday in what turned out to be a 19-hole playoff against Rocco Mediate, Woods admitted that he played at Torrey Pines despite being warned by his doctors that he could risk further damage to his knee.

Asked specifically if he had indeed suffered more damage, Woods replied,"Maybe."

And now? There's no doubt that the 91 holes Woods played between Thursday's opening drive and the sudden-death hole he needed to subdue the pesky Mediate put an undue strain on his knee that was surgically repaired -- for the third time since 1994 -- two days after the Masters in April.

But there's also little doubt that Tiger made the right decision to risk the health of his knee.

Let's face it -- he had to play the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. It's a course he's won at more than any other in his career -- six times as a junior, six (now seven) times as a pro. Outside of Augusta National, how often does any player get to play a major championship at such a familiar venue?

That familiarity allowed Woods to enter Thursday's opening round with less than a full amount of prep time and still feel confident in his chances.

Plus, Tiger doesn't consider any year a success unless he's won one major. Since he finished second to Trevor Immelman at the Masters, this was his best chance to make sure he didn't go home empty-handed this season. The British Open is at Royal Birkdale, a course Woods played 10 years ago when he finished third, while the PGA Championship is at Oakland Hills, a course he's played at the 2004 Ryder Cup. Hardly courses he knows.

Had the U.S. Open been at Oakland Hills and the PGA at Torrey Pines, then perhaps Tiger would've skipped the U.S. Open and given his knee more time to recuperate. But he didn't have that luxury.

For most athletes -- heck, for most sports teams -- the opportunity to win a championship in the short term supercedes possible negative ramifications in the long term. Think about the owners of potential title-contending teams who have busted their budget or made a controversial trade of a young player with potential for a more established one just to give their team a better shot to win.

Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't.

In essence, that's what Tiger did. He traded the possibility of long-term knee damage for the chance to win his 14th major. Seemed like a good gamble going in -- and it obviously paid off.

OK, so we don't know for sure what shape he'll be in when he returns next year. We don't know if he'll ever be able to dominate like he has for most of his career, if he'll ever again overpower a course and his opponents.

Woods, however, seems confident that he'll return to his old form. "My doctors assure me with the proper rehabilitation and training, the knee will be strong, and there will be no long-term effects," he said in his statement.

We're betting that Tiger's medical team is slightly more advanced than the ones you might find at oh, let's say, NASA (hey, maybe they're the same since Tiger started appearing in a spacesuit in one of his Gatorade commercials), so there's no reason to doubt their prognosis.

But frankly, no one will know for sure until he tees it up again.

For now, all we know is Woods is one step closer to Jack Nicklaus' magical total of 18 majors.

The step might have been a painful one to make -- it sure looked painful anytime he tried to climb out of a bunker last week -- but it was the right one.