On his website today, Tiger Woods announced he underwent successful arthroscopic knee surgery.

The operation was performed on his left knee which has been operated on three times previously. The first operation was in 1994 to remove a benign tumor. In 2002 a cartilage injury prompted Woods to have his second operation. A similar injury was in need of repair this time according to Woods’ agent Mark Steinberg, "Cartilage damage was found during the procedure, which Dr. Rosenberg was able to correct. Tiger has played through the pain in the past, but knew it would be better for him to have the procedure done as early as possible."

The operation was performed in Park City, Utah by Dr. Thomas Rosenberg. The recovery time for this injury is in the 4-6 week range which should have Woods ready for the U.S. Open, but Tiger will likely miss The Players Championship for the first time in his professional career.

Woods has been dealing with this injury since last year and the timing was right for the operation to take place now. "I made the decision to deal with the pain and schedule the surgery for after the Masters," said Woods.  "The upside is that I have been through this process before and know how to handle it.  I look forward to working through the rehabilitation process and getting back to action as quickly as I can."