A Christmas Letter from Tiger’s Left Knee

(Pocketwiley/Flickr)

GOING THROUGH THE STACK of mail this past weekend, I spotted a large red envelope with a Florida postmark. Inside was a Christmas card with Santa Claus sipping an umbrella drink on the beach and this letter printed on holiday stationery:

Christmas 2008

It was another exciting year for the Woods-Nordegren family. As usual for us, there was golf, travel, visits with family and friends, and a lot of downtime (for Tiger and me), which was a nice change of pace.

Of course, the year’s big news is that Elin and Tiger are expecting their second child this winter! The room is about ready, but we won’t know if the baby will be a boy or girl until the big day. The excitement is building …

Now a toddler, Sam is growing faster than U.S. Open rough. She is a busy little girl and keeps Elin and Tiger (and me) going all the time. She reminds me of her dad.

Tiger’s work as a professional golfer went well, except he had to take the second half of the year off because I had surgery. (More on that in a moment.) Tiger only played in six tournaments, but he won four of them, so that was good. One was the U.S. Open. That was a pretty big deal.

As I mentioned, I had surgery (my third) with the same specialist, Dr. Rosenberg of Utah, or “Rosey,” as I call him. Everything went well and I expect to make a full recovery. I’d like to say I’m used to the surgery-rehab routine, but, to be honest, it’s never easy. I’m glad that I’m feeling better than I have in years and slowly returning to normal activities. I just have to be patient. (No golf yet.)

I need to stop here because I still have Christmas shopping to do. I have to pick up something for Luke Donald’s wrist and Adam Scott’s knee. (They’re so hard to shop for.)

All in all, we have much to be thankful for and look forward to a great 2009.

Wishing you and yours the very best this holiday season and in the new year,

Tiger’s Left Knee

(Editor’s note: ARMCHAIR GOLF interviewed Tiger’s Left Knee three times in 2008, in May, early June and late June.)

−The Armchair Golfer