19th Hole
‘He’ll never be the Tiger of even 2015’ – Doctor explains Tiger’s latest surgery and timeline of recovery
Yesterday, Tiger Woods released a statement saying that he’s undergone a “subtalar fusion procedure to address his post-traumatic arthritis from his previous talus fracture.”
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) April 19, 2023
Considering Tiger’s age and injury history, there’s been rampant speculation on what the future may hold for the 15-time major champion.
Bill Mallon, who is a former PGA Tour player and is now Editor-In-Chief of the Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery and a doctor who specializes in complex shoulder reconstructions, weighed in on Twitter to give his opinon on Woods’ procedure.
OK, so Tiger Woods had a subtalar fusion to his right foot today, to alleviate the pain from the arthritis that developed after his car crash in January 2021. What exactly is that, why did he have it done, and what can be expected from it? 1/n
— Bill Mallon (@bambam1729) April 19, 2023
First of all, the release specifically said it was a subtalar fusion. That is not an ankle fusion as I saw reported by Reuters. They are different surgeries. 2/n
— Bill Mallon (@bambam1729) April 19, 2023
What’s a fusion? A fusion is where you take two adjacent bones, that form a joint between them, and fuse them together to form one larger bone, and the joint goes away in the process. It is done to alleviate pain, usually, although it can be done for instability. 3/n
— Bill Mallon (@bambam1729) April 19, 2023
A subtalar fusion is a fusion of the talus and calcaneus bone in the hindfoot. The talus is the bone that articulates (=forms a joint) with the ankle bones, the tibia and fibula. The calcaneus is your heel bone, which lies under the talus. Thus, subtalar = below the talus. 4/n
— Bill Mallon (@bambam1729) April 19, 2023
When Tiger broke his talus my long Twitter thread said that it was his biggest long-term risk, developing arthritis around the talus. The reason is that the talus has a tenuous blood supply, and when you fracture it, you can disrupt the blood supply to the talus. 5/n
— Bill Mallon (@bambam1729) April 19, 2023
Without blood supply to any bone, the bone will die, a condition called avascular necrosis (AVN) (=osteonecrosis). This will then lead to arthritis 100% of the time. Where the arthritis is depends on the exact anatomy of the fracture. 6/n
— Bill Mallon (@bambam1729) April 19, 2023
So a subtalar fusion fuses the talus to the calcaneus, technically also called the talocalcaneal joint, but its usually called the subtalar joint. This will eliminate motion at the former joint, but also it will no longer be painful, almost uniformly. 7/n
— Bill Mallon (@bambam1729) April 19, 2023
The surgery is done by denuding the joint surfaces of their cartilage, roughening up the bone ends, adding bone graft, and then stabilizing the fusion, usually with screws, or sometimes a plate and screws. 8/n
— Bill Mallon (@bambam1729) April 19, 2023
With a subtalar joint fusion, Tiger will no longer have any motion @ that joint (after it heals), but in return he will have pain relief. It will limit his motion in his foot and ankle, but fortunately this is in right foot – in his left foot it would likely be career ending. 9/n
— Bill Mallon (@bambam1729) April 19, 2023
There are other, larger fusions that can be done around the talus – an ankle fusion, a triple arthrodesis (fusion) (fuses three joints around the talus), and a pantalar arthrodesis, which combines an ankle fusion with a triple arthrodesis, and severely limits motion. 10/n
— Bill Mallon (@bambam1729) April 19, 2023
Tiger will be in either a cast, a splint, or a boot for a period of time – its at the surgeon’s discretion. He will likely get around using a rolling stroller, in which you rest your knee on a padded surface, bend your knee, and that leg will roll along. 11/n
— Bill Mallon (@bambam1729) April 19, 2023
It usually takes 6 weeks to 3 months for the fusion to take effect, and Tiger will have limited weight-bearing during that time, which again will be at the surgeon’s discretion, and also depends on how the fusion is healing. 12/n
— Bill Mallon (@bambam1729) April 19, 2023
The status of the fusion will be determined by serial x-rays, or if needed, a CT scan – CT scans are better to visualize bones than MRIs, which are better at looking at soft tissues. 13/n
— Bill Mallon (@bambam1729) April 19, 2023
Can he play golf again? Yes, but that’s at least 6 months to a year in the future. His tournaments for 2023 are likely over, and I would not be surprised to not see him play again until Augusta 2024. 14/n
— Bill Mallon (@bambam1729) April 19, 2023
Can he play golf well again? Depends on your definition of well. He’ll never be the Tiger of 2000 or even 2015. The fact that this is his right foot/ankle is the saving grace, as you need motion in your left foot/ankle as you roll over it near impact. 15/end
— Bill Mallon (@bambam1729) April 19, 2023
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Butch Harmon reveals what he worked on with Rory McIlroy during visit earlier this year
While speaking on the “Son of a Butch” Podcast, legendary swing coach Butch Harmon revealed what he worked on with Rory McIlroy when the four-time major champion went to visit him after the Players Championship this season.
Butch Harmon on what he worked on with Rory:
“The work I did with him wasn’t a tremendous amount of changing what he did, it was his attitude and the way he played certain shots. From 150 yards and in he made a full swing like he was hitting a driver and I wanted him to make…
— Matt Vincenzi (@MattVincenziPGA) May 15, 2024
“The work I did with him wasn’t a tremendous amount of changing what he did, it was his attitude and the way he played certain shots. From 150 yards and in he made a full swing like he was hitting a driver and I wanted him to make more 3 quarter swings and chop the follow through off a little. He’s a very high ball hitter, but with short irons high balls aren’t good, it’s hard to control, we wanted to bring the ball flight down.”
The work certainly seemed to help McIlroy, as he went on to win the Zurich Classic alongside Shane Lowry and the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow in back-to-back starts.
Rory will now tee it up at Valhalla for the PGA Championship, which is the site of his most recent major victory in 2014.
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Brandel Chamblee says this technological development was key to Phil Mickelson winning major championships
While speaking with GolfWRX, Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee shared that he believes the solid core golf ball helped Phil Mickelson win major championships.
“One of the consequences of the solid core golf ball coming around was it put the straightest of hitters in the rough.
“Phil started winning majors in 2004, I don’t think that’s any coincidence. I think he started winning majors after the solid core golf ball came along and put everybody in the rough.
“And so [Phil] is like ‘I got you in the rough, I’m going to kick your a**. This is my game. I’ve been in the rough my whole career. I can go over trees, through trees, around trees.’
“Because he’s got that amazing creativity and Phil is an underrated iron player, phenomenal iron player. Great, great great out of the trouble. If you put the top-40 players on a list and ranked them in terms of accuracy, he would be 40th.
“So, I think that was one of the consequences of the solid core golf balls was it allowed Phil to win major championships.”
Mickelson went on to win the Masters in 2004 as well as five additional majors from 2004-2021 including three total Masters, two PGA Championships, and an Open Championship.
Check out the full interview with Chamblee below:
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Former Augusta National employee pleads guilty to transporting stolen Masters memorabilia; Arnold Palmer’s green jacket among stolen items
The document was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Since then, more details have emerged about the case.
According to Darren Rovell of Cllct, one of the items that was stolen was Arnold Palmer’s green jacket.
The Chicago Tribune also reported that Globensky was able to steal the merchandise due to his role as a former warehouse coordinator at Augusta National who oversaw the Masters merchandise that was sold.
Rovell states that “A source with intimate knowledge of the case said an Augusta National member, who knew the jacket was missing, contacted a well-known collector who had gained a reputation for tracking down rare items. The member’s goal was to return the jacket to Augusta under the guise of purchasing it in a private sale.”
The plan worked, and the man agreed to sell the jacket for an agreed upon price of $3.6 million. After the sale was complete, the FBI swarmed the house of the thief.
Cllct also reported that Globensky pled guilty in a federal court in Chicago on Wednesday and now faces up to 10 years in prison.
The Chicago Tribune adds that Globensky’s plea deal includes an agreement to provide the government a cashier’s check for $1.5 million in the next few days.
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