Golf Central

Call it a Big Cat nap, if you will. There's no need to raise the alarm (although Tiger Woods made the announcement himself on his official website early Wednesday), but Tiger is going to be out of action from four to six weeks after having arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.

After finishing runner-up to Trevor Immelman at the Masters, Woods flew to Park City, Utah for surgery to repair cartilage damage, which was performed by Dr Thomas Rosenberg, who also operated on the same knee in 2002.

The knee has been troubling Woods since last summer, although no one connected to the world No. 1 said it had affected his play.

"I made the decision to deal with the pain and schedule the surgery for after the Masters," Woods said in his statement on his website. "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."

The surgery means that if all goes well, Woods should be ready to tackle the season's next major - at the US Open at Torrey Pines in mid-June. Woods won his first four starts of the season, but he will miss the chance to defend his title at the Wachovia Championship. It is doubtful that he will return in time for The Players Championship at Sawgrass, and he probably also will miss Jack Nicklaus' Memorial Tournament at the end of May.