Thank God we can watch golf now, and we don't have to watch Tiger TV. I'm not saying Tiger isn't the best, but do they have to only show him. You don't even get to see anyone else play. I'm happy he's got the rest of the year off. I think I'm going to watch golf again now.

Matt, Myrtle Beach, USA

Retief is the very embodiment of the south African mentality

Floyd Tunstall, Glassboro NJ, USA

Hopefully Goosen's comments are not inspired by a deep seated racial prejudice. Like his fellow South African, Sabatini, he should just accept that he isn't in Tiger's league and put a sock in it!

Michael, Manila,

@David Baker:

I agree with your observations about some of the unhealthy, presumptive comments here, although I'd point out that your observations apply equally to Reteif's comments.

Doug, San Diego, USA

The vitriol in some of these comments is very unhealthy. I notice that many are quick to condemn without a proper knowledge of the facts and even presume that Goosen's remarks were inspired by racial prejudice. They are unfortunately showing their own prejudice. It leaves a nasty taste in the mouth.

David Baker, CRANLEIGH, UK

Retief, AS A FELLOW SOUTH AFRICAN I AM ASHAMED OF YOUR COMMENTS; AS A POFESSIONAL SPORTS PERSON AND BEING SOMEONE THAT SURVIVED LIGHTNING YOU WOULD KNOW BETTER. I put it down to your loss of form that you have joined your fellow Loud mouth Rory. I will asue you NOW Tiger "Tiga Tiga" will be back.

Chris Tee, Johannesburg, RSA

Finally, someone calls out Tiger. I'll I've been hearing about is how Tiger won quote: "with a broken leg"!

Tiger is known to ham things up. Certainly you have seen his baby-ness during bunker shots right? The whole "sand in face" reaction.

He did ham-it on many occasions

Stuart Gregory, Alpharetta, USA

Goosen should shut up...and consider himself lucky. If Tiger is done for the year he and any other jealous golfer has a chance to win something. Although, as he showed last weekend, a one legged Tiger beats a two legged big mouth like Retief every time.

Chip, Gainesville FL , USA

Anyone who follows golf knows that a big part of Tiger's game is the psychological edge he has over opponents. Tiger revealing he is in pain would only serve to benefit his competitors, make them believe they could beat him. I could see Mickelson faking an injury to get sympathy but not Tiger.

Jay, London, UK

Retief owes Tiger an apology in person. What a stupid bunch of statements, he should engage his brain before he allows his mouth to run away. I always thought Retief was a class act, turns out he's a classless act.

Roger Lewis, Chicago, USA

Now that Tiger is out for the next two majors it's time for Retief to put up or shut up. Can Retief win either of the remaining majors this year on his two good knees to add to his two US Opens? I doubt he has the work ethic it takes.

Doug, San Diego, USA

I see old habits die hard at Racism HQ (South Africa and the American South)

GW, London, UK

It is very clear that Retief is running his mouth off instead of playing good golf. Jealous that he is, he should be more careful on what he says. I bet that he will not win a single tournament for the rest of this year. Shame on you, Goose.

Shri N, DC, USA

How petty and small minded Goosen has made himself look! His comments come out of sheer jealousy. It will be interesting to see the reception he gets the next time he appears on the US tour.

Gen, London, UK

I agree with Retief. I watched every round from start to finish and I got the same feeling. I had told friends about it before Retief came out with his comments. I still wish him a speedy recovery though.
Billy - South Carolina

Billy, North Augusta, SC, USA

Mr. Goosen pls read sport pages of every news paper !
You must regret what you said about Mr.Woods !!
For a golfer your words is very unsportmanslike and plain
an ugly insult.
Shame on you.

Hasan, Bodrum, Turkiye

Tiger playing with a left handed putter!!! and the nike tick on his hat is a lefthanded tick!

brendan gormley, chepstow,

Why is it always South African players with their idiotic comments about Tiger? Sabatini, Goosen, and there was one before them in the masters that seem to have a problem with woods. I guess they haven't gotten over the end of Apartheid yet. Worry about your games idiots.

Mike, Californai,

Tiger Woods is the greatest to ever play the game - and Goosen is a very good golfer. Its sad Goosen said the things he did - they were foolish and unprofessional at best.

I wonder if Tiger is still "faking it" now that he's scheduled for another surgery and will miss the rest of the season.

Darren, Omaha, USA

Goosen, are you embarrassed now? Two stress fractures and an ACL tear convincing enough? You might have withdrawn, but Tiger's in a whole different league of mental and physical toughness.

Ron, Claremont, CA, USA

Mr. Goosen appears to be suffering from Fuzzy Zoeller syndrome. While Zoeller's comments after the 1997 Masters were overtly racist, one can only infer racism in Goosen's case based on his South African heritage. I suspect both men lashed out because of frustration with Woods's dominance.

Mark, San Antonio, US

Hello all you doubters out there: the news has just come through that Tiger Woods is to have more surgery and will miss the rest of the season. Fancy rushing to judgement with little or no information! Why be so critical and synical? His victory is made even more impressive by this turn of events.

Elliot, Sliema, Malta

everybody including Goosen are earning more because of Tiger and what he has done for Golf! But a wonderful 45 yr old guy showed us a few things about golf.The loafers suck off somebody else's oxygen playing bad gutless golf. Let's see what the level of interest/TV ratings will be now Tiger is out?

Rob, Scarsdale, USA

Keith, Copenhagen and all the other doubters, I guess Tiger is continuing to fake it.
Now Retief and all the rest will have a level playing field with no barriers to them winning as many tournaments as they wish.
MT

M. Taylor, Braqmpton, ON

That's pure jealousy. Mr Woods was in pain when he drove the ball, even on a good drive, or using fairway wood where the force was at it's highest. Mr Goosen, have a good heart, don't second guess what Mr Woods does; he is such a great person with his honesty and commitment for everything he does,

Bahrin, Ipoh, Malaysia

After today's news about the true severity of Wood's condition Retief must feel terrible. He should apologize to Woods by word and deed-- perhaps send a contribution to Woods' foundation.

hzlehrer, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA

yes retief, cos tiger has to do something other than play golf to attract attention to himself. i think all the attention he was getting is probably more related to the fact that he is the greatest player to ever play the game? sounds like the goose is just suffering from a mild case of jealosy...

tim, dunners, nz

Wow, as Rocco would say. I'm not sure there is enough crow to go around for all those who criticized and doubted Mr. Woods. A torn ACL and a double stress fracture in his tibia -- and he still won one of the best U.S. Open's ever. Where did Mr. Goosen finish? Tiger's gone now. No more excuses, boys

I. Young, Washington, D.C.

The people who agree with Goosen should either not comment or increase their golf knowledge. As anyone who as a knee injury can attest the pain associated with such an injury tends to vacillate between constant and sporadic depending on the types stress placed on the joint.

Milton, Dallas, usa

Okay, Goose, you've had your say. It actually sounds more like envy than anything else. What would be the point of even making that statement regardless of what you thought. Tiger Woods has more class in his little finger than you ever will. Maybe you'll get lucky with him out for a while...

Jay Lamberth, Tijeras, USA

Ah, it looks like all you faker-theorists can enjoy your Tiger holiday for the next 8-10 months. Have fun watching the British Open, the PGA championship, and the Ryder Cup without the world's number one golfer (or as you say, faker). Yeah, that Tiger, always faking injuries to get sympathy...

Debbie, Bloomington, USA

South African whites are disdainful of Blacks and Goosen is a good example of the boss mentality continuing to pervade that society.

ramesh Kumar, Kampala, Uganda

Goosen is talking rubbish, on his good shots he was showing his knee was hurting.
Now it's proven to be worst and he is out for the rest of the season.
Goosen should now apolosise.
I bet with Tiger missing he still won't win the open.

Greg Worrell, Milton Keynes, England

Whether he was faking or not, fact is, he won after a surgery and an 8 week absence. Does he need to fake it? What for? I am sure if Tiger was healthier, he would have ended the match earlier. Mr. Goosen is just a sore loser and he is not even in the same league as Tiger Woods.

B Lismer, Vancouver, Canada

we were thinking exactly the same on a number of shots...his delayed grimace was only when the direction (or lack of ) of the shot became apparent....

CT, London,

Ask yourself why Tiger Wood's would "fake" this injury?

Publicity? No athlete (perhaps person in any walk of life) receives more publicity than Tiger Woods.

Sympathy? He is the best to ever play the game. Why would he need or want sympathy?

An excuse? No one has less need for one.

Darren, Omaha, USA

He started playing left handed the day Nike reversed their logo on his hat.

Chuck Dennison, Columbia, Mo, US

Yes, Tiger was play acting wasn't he. Just like Magic Johnson about his HIV + before the olympics in '92, just like Don Bradman about his high fever in an Ashes match, just like Pete Sampras vomiting with exhaustion during a US Open game. All these greats are just actors. Great discovery Retief.....

Sachin, Delhi, India

Even if Tiger had to have his leg amputated, I'd expect to see him win more tournaments. What ever it takes, he'll do it. He did it. He'll be back, and he'll probably win his next tournament, just because "it can't be done"! I wish him a full and expedient recovery. I'm betting on him. He's #1

Dean Crandell, Medford, OR, United States of America

Tiger is way more of a man than Goosen. What he did last weekend was so in character and so superhuman. Other golfers would have pulled out for sure but Tiger is too much of a man. There are no superlatives that do him justice, he is simply awesome and one of the greatest living human beings.

George, Harlow,

...In between rounds at Torrey Pines last week/end - Tiger's doctors no doubt helped the pain with injections of cortisone/steroid...No one, not even Tiger could have tolerated that kind of pain for the whole 4-5 days etc... Goosen! I am very surprised! He looks such a benign kind of fellow...

Patricia, FL, USA,

well, tiger has announced he's done for the season. i sincerely doubt that it's a fake. with tiger gone, skysports ought to shut it down for the season as well. coming up next in the open - the battle for world number 2! does anyone really care about that? yawn...

see you all next year!

j peterman, london, uk

I wonder how Goossen would like his crow prepared since it now appears Woods is going to miss the rest of the entire year to have more surgery. Or perhaps the grapes in South Africa will sweeten in time.

Jim, Spaldwick, UK

Well, now that Tiger is going to have season-ending knee surgery, Reteif, and others here who criticized him, look pretty stupid.

Eric, Nashville, USA

Where does Goosen come off claiming exaggerated pain by Tiger? When did Retief become an orthopedic expert? Maybe he wouldn't have played through the pain; but there are remarkable athletes, like one Tiger Woods, who have enough courage to play with excellence in pain. Comments ill advised, Retief

Bill Berry, Germantown-TN, United States

Concerning your picture of Tiger - since when did he play left-handed?

Andrew S, Omsk, Russia

I'm with Goose on this - never saw Tiger flinch once when he'd hit a good shot - the kid is good but Jack Nicklaus he ain't!

Mick Valerio, Bedford, UK

I did watch the four rounds and playoff of the US open,and Ive seen Tiger hitting perfect drives, and still feeling the pain. The commentators even said they could not judge if tiger had a good shot or a bad shot by his reactions.Even not 100% he proved hes above all the rest (including Goosen).

Thiago Silva, edinburgh, UK

Goosen? Does he still play? the last i heard of him was him blowing his us opne lead by shooting a nice 80. It look slike he needs a reason to get his name in the limelight again. After this sage he would be confined to being a nobody again.

Fred O'toole, Kent, uk

That was one of the most compelling golf tournaments for years. All credit to Woods for playing so soon after surgery and to Mediate for withstand the pressure over 5 rounds.
All professional atheletes get injuries and often play on w/o any fuss. Who knows if Mediate was perfectly healthy?

Ian, Madison, USA

"If he is fit, the whispers will grow louder that the winces and grimaces that accompanied many shots last weekend at Torrey Pines were no more than playing to the gallery."


I found this piece more inane than Goosens suggestion. plz!!

Fred O'toole, Kent, uk

If Retief had paid more attention to his game rather than every facial tick displayed by Tiger, he might be holding the trophy today.
Barely does he say a word, but now we know why. He should return to his reticient ways. If you have nothing good to say about someone, then say nothing at all.

M. Taylor, Braqmpton, ON

Going to the gym and the pressure that Woods puts his knee under every shot is completely different also do you go to the gym 4 hours a day for 5 days in a row. If you have the desire to win like Woods you do not just pull out pride gets in the way and pushes you on. Retief is just jealous.

Martin Rockliff, Scunthorpe, North Lincs

PS. You don't have to deify Woods to know that Goosen's comments are motivated by envy pure and simple. Why do people envy others? Because they have what you don't have. In the case of Woods (and not Goosen) a total mastery of a golf course, injured or no! Nuff said.

John Edgar, Brighton, UK

I wonder if skin colour is an issue in this for Ratief?

stevo, sydney,

Goosen whq? He is a sore loser! why would Tiger fake injury for what! afterall win is not decided by public vote! Tiger eanerd his win period! Goosen should watch the tournament video, Tiger was in pain good shot or bad shot! of course he didnt show pain when putting coz teeing exert more pressure

Phone Itshekeng, Gaborone, Botswana

Tiger winced in pain on a lot of good shots, so the allegation that he only winced on bad shots just shows that Goosen didn't watch the tournament. Saturday, #18 for example, from the fairway, great shot onto the green, Tiger winces in pain. What the heck are these people talking about?

Marty, Jacksonville, USA

Why would anyone think to ask Goosen that question in the first place? Either there was a lot of suspicion about that in the clubhouse, or the media, once again, was just creating a controversy to get a story.

John Brittain, Lewistown, PA, USA

Sour grapes,Tiger did say he was taking painkillers as well,i respected Goosen, but i have changed my mind, he's probably one of those golfers who still cant accept that Tiger is athe best by a mile.Without him golf is poorer.As for wincing when he played only bad shots...grow up Retief!

Manny, London,

If there is ever a measure of how great a player like Tiger Woods is and how thouroughly dominating he has been, it's the reaction of other players to factors totally irrelevant to the only fact that matters: winning. Those who can't, whine.

Somak, Bangkok, Thailand

Tiger won. He will win again.

Goosen did not win and probably never will again. He is not good enough.

End of discussion.

Ted Baines, New York, USA

I have to agree with Retief on this one. Remember everyone is entitled to his opinion and so is Retief. When Woods was struggling on the 3rd day the "pain" seemed unbearable. For a guy that went through so much pain and go on and play 37 extra holes is to say the least, unconvincing.

Morne Hoole, knysna, south africa

Regardless of his unsubstantiated comments, Tiger has proved time and time again that he has what it takes to win - The other guys need to pick up their game if they want to play at his level - Jealousy of his achievments will not improve their standing - Golf is an individual not team sport -

WTaylor, London, UK

Sorry, but Who is Goosen ?

Nigel Bramble, London UK, England

Would you ever see Retief acting in pain like that, real pain or not?Why was he asked that question in the first place?Tiger had to devalue Immelman's victory with the "playing through the pain barrier" comment.Nicklaus,Palmer,Goosen are twice the man Tiger can ever hope to be.I said Man,NOT golfer!

Alex, Stockholm, Sweden

I had knee surgery the same day as Woods and theoretically my operation was more invasive than the procedure he reportedly had done. I have been back in the gym for four weeks now and have had little problem. Tiger either had something bigger done (e.g. ACL) or the surgery wasn't succesful

Simon Johnson, Wrexham,

I was thinking the exact same thing as Goosen all week. I also noticed that he didn't wince as much in the play-off where it was one on one, he must have thought it was too much to try and gain sympathy against the underdog Mediate. He didn't seem to have much trouble bending his knees when putting.

Keith, Copenhagen,

It appears that most of the posters have deified Tiger and are devotees at the altar of woods, sadly they respond to any implied criticism of their 'God' in the same way that all religions do!
It's just a game, so what if he was or wasn't hurt - he will benefit from the publicity either way!

AKULA, london, UK

Early in round 4, he twisted his knee on a drive. By 5/6 he wasn't wincing as his golf improved! Then on 18 when he tugged it left, under pressure, he winces again!

People in real pain don't have theatrics to draw attention to it. They may well limp, but they don't contort their face like that.

DCC, London,

Tiger winced on all his bad shots did he? If Goosen classes Tiger's 2nd shot into 18 on day 3 (when Tiger winced in pain) a bad shot then no wonder the Goose can't win any more.

JC, South Wales,

I was very disappointed in Retief's comment. Tiger is no fake. He has always played with his heart and has always been honest in his dealings That, in some degree of discomfort, he put everyone else beside Rocco to shame is no reason to try and sully Tiger's win.

M. Taylor, Braqmpton, ON

The suggestion that Woods was "faking" his knee injury is counterintuitive and ill informed. There is no history of Tiger ever faking an injury for any reason. Since the accusation is not based in fact, then it is left for us to consider the source or sources. Jealousy is the simple answer.

Richard, Chicago, USA

Goosen was playing in the same tournament and couldn't see the shots hit by Woods. Some of his biggest 'winces' and reactions to pain came after he had hit shots straight down the fairway.

Having met Tiger Woods I am not his biggest fan as a person, but we have to give him all the respect he has earned and deserves from his ability on the golf course.

Jim Stuart-Young, Shanghai, China

It sounds like he had an arthroscopy, and nine weeks is ample time to be fit again for any ordinary person let alone a super fit athlete like Tiger Woods. But he is not just a golfer he is a multi million corporation so a little publicity always helps. If he was not fit he would have pulled out.

Geoff Parrott, Bindoon, Western Australia

And there was I thinking Retief was one of the classier members of the PGA tour. I watched all 5 rounds Woods played. There were plenty of good shots with pain, just as there were a lot of bad ones. I'd have expected this from Sergio, Retief, not from you.

Frank, Bellevue, USA/WA

Why would Goosen call Tiger a liar?. The day Tiger retires from golf is the day the interest in the PGA , the tour, and the current crop of players will slowly disappear. Tiger alone has done more for the world of golf than Nicklaus, Palmer, and Player combined. Sour grapes Retief??

Gloria Sherman, Leesburg, Va, USA