Reactions to Woods' season-ending-surgery news

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Tiger Woods' position as the No. 1 golfer in the world means his news undoubtedly has an effect on the other PGA TOUR players. Take a look at what Woods' peers had to say about his announcement to undergo ACL repair surgery and sit out the remainder of the 2008 season.

Reactions to Woods' announcement

Person Comment Mickelson "I'm sorry about Tiger having to miss the rest of the year due to more knee surgery. I know how frustrating it was to lose most of last summer to my wrist injury, but I expect him to be back as strong as ever and look forward to competing with him as soon as possible." -- Phil Mickelson Perry "It's definitely an opportunity for us, for sure. But still, you want to beat the best. I think any of the competitors out here, when you're playing, you want to have Tiger in the field, because if you beat a field with Tiger in it, you've beat the best field out there probably, because most of the time all the other big stars are with him." -- Kenny Perry Whitcomb "Once again this weekend, Tiger showed his special brand of skill and determination, which makes him our game's greatest champion. As a fellow PGA Member and friend, we wish him a full and speedy recovery." -- PGA of America President Brian Whitcomb Perry On the Ryder Cup: "He's definitely our best player, and to lose him off our team, to lose that fear factor, to lose that dominance (isn't good). I know he makes the other guys nervous when they see they gotta play Tiger. They also get fired up, too. You always want to play the best, but it's always a tough task to try to beat him." -- Kenny Perry Dawson "Tiger is an enormous attraction; there's no denying that. But the Open Championship has had many exciting finishes, which Tiger has not been part of, and I'm sure there will be more. It's very sad. We're very sorry that he's succumbed to the injury and he won't be competing in the Open. We hope he has the speediest recovery." -- Royal & Ancient Chief Executive Peter Dawson DiMarco "Obviously, he is a huge and integral part of the PGA TOUR, and we are going to miss him. The main concern right now is that he gets better and gets back out here." -- Chris DiMarco Funk "It must be a lot worse than what it was initially thought, because he is surrounded by all of the experts and he works his butt off, and obviously it wasn't as ready as they thought. I had my knee done five weeks ago today, and I played in Memphis the third week out, but it wasn't the left knee. They told me that if it had been the left knee that I would have been out 8 weeks, at least. There's so much more torque on the left knee. You read the comment this morning that it would be 12 weeks, but it's Tiger's mentality that he was able to overcome it and do everything that he could." -- Fred Funk Begay "It's a great decision to get surgery. He was in a lot of discomfort. He has to look out for the longevity of his career. Obviously, he's going to to work hard to get back to the top of the game. It's great for the game of golf when he's at the top. It's not doomsday though. It may give the fans an opportunity to see how good the caliber of talent is out here. Obviously, Tiger is a big part of the equation, but he's not the whole deal. There are many, many talented players out here that the fans can get to know a little better now." -- Notah Begay III Baird "Disappointing for the entire TOUR. It's not a black eye, but it's going to take some adjusting knowing that he's not going to be out here the rest of the year. We all hope he has a speedy recovery, which he will; no one is going to work harder than Tiger. But it's disappointing to know that the best player in the world won't be playing. You like to know that you've beaten the best, but it's also sometimes nice knowing that he's not in the field (joking). Seriously though, if you can win a tournament with Tiger in the field, it means that much more." -- Briny Baird Kelly On the Ryder Cup: "Number one, obviously he'll be missed. I mean the sponsors want him, the media wants him and the players really want him because when we win a tournament without Tiger in it, you beat the best of the field that week, but you haven't beaten the best. I want to play in all the tournaments Tiger plays in, give myself the best chance to win a tournament against the best. That's the measuring stick. So it's tough on the players." -- Jerry Kelly