Woods has successful knee surgery, in recovery for 4-6 weeks

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Tiger Woods underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on Tuesday at Healthsouth Medical Center in Park City, Utah.

"I made the decision to deal with the pain and schedule the surgery after the Masters," Woods said of his knee procedure. (Squire/Getty Images)

Woods is expected to be out for between 4-6 weeks. The rehabilitation schedule could threaten his title defense at the Wachovia Championship May 1-4, as well as his appearance at THE PLAYERS Championship the following week.

The U.S. Open, which will be played at Torrey Pines, a course where Woods has won six times, is eight weeks away. Woods finished second to Trevor Immelman on Sunday at the Masters Tournament, the season's first major championship.

"I made the decision to deal with the pain and schedule the surgery after the Masters," Woods said on his Web site. "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."

Woods won his first three starts this season -- and seven of eight PGA TOUR events dating back to the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational last August. His victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard last month gave the 32-year-old a total of 64, tying him with the legendary Ben Hogan for third all-time.

PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem said Woods' presence will be missed.

"Of course, we're disappointed when Tiger is unable to compete in a PGA TOUR event," Finchem said. "He's the No. 1 player in the world and a fan favorite wherever he goes. There is really never a good time for an athlete - especially one of Tiger's caliber - to take weeks off from competition during the season, but his health concerns have to come first.

"We wish him the best toward a speedy recovery and look forward to welcoming him back to the TOUR when he is ready and able to compete."

This is the third time Woods has had surgery on his left knee.

The first operation was in 1994 to remove a benign tumor while the second was an arthroscopic procedure in December, 2002. Woods returned to the PGA TOUR in February, 2003 and won three of his first four starts.