Will Woods play in U.S. Open? So expect!!!

In watching Tiger Woods struggle to walk during his shortened round at the 2011 Players Championship, it didn't seem likely that he would be returning to the course any time soon. But Tiger has said that he will play in the U.S. Open in June at Congressional. That is surprising news given how much pain he said he had. Seeing that Woods has not played a round of competitive golf since the Masters in April, does Woods really have any chance of winning this tournament?

Woods looked terrible at The Players Championship, and it wasn't just his injuries. His swing was off and his green game didn't look any better. To think that he can just march into Congressional, a course he knows well, and win the U.S. Open is something that no golf fan can reasonably expect. In fact, it makes me wonder a little bit about how severe the injury really was at The Players Championship. It is obvious that Woods has knee issues, but it could be possible that his poor play early in the Players contributed to his early departure. After all, he said he had similar pain during his win at the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines but still finished. In any case, there are major issues with his golf game. Not playing or practicing isn't going to help Woods at all. I know Woods wants that major record, but he won't do himself any favors here. If he is truly hurt, then he should skip the U.S. Open. If he isn't, then he needs to get some rounds in ahead of time to have any chance. And we all expect Woods will play in U.s. Open.