I’ll have a few stories coming next week on the opening of the Pound Ridge Golf Club, the new daily fee layout in, you guessed it, Pound Ridge that was designed by the legendary Pete Dye.

I was out there last week, and the course, transformed from a former 9-hole facility, is indeed a spectacular place. But it’s still open for debate how many people will pay $235 for a round of golf (or better yet, how many people will remain married if they spent $235 for a round of golf. See, I probably would if not for the fear of my wife coming at me with a 3-wood soon after seeing the bill).

There’s obviously no shortage of money in this area, and the prevailing theory from owner Ken Wang is that many people would prefer to pay the $235 tab 20 times at Pound Ridge instead of forking over six figures to join a private club (Wang explained there’s a rough formula for coming up with a greens fee, and it’s essentially $10 for every million spent on construction. Since Pound Ridge cost in the neighborhood of $50 million to build, Wang said he’s actually charging less than he should).

There is some validity to that. But I also know the daily fee market has been saturated by overbuilding in the ‘90s, so there’s definitely a question of whether there’s enough demand at that price. Maybe because it’s Pete Dye and truly unique, enough people will be on board. I don’t know. I play the course for the first time next Tuesday, so I’ll let you know how it goes.

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And with Pound Ridge’s opening, it’s about time I got around to my Pound Ridge story from when I was 13 or 14. This was back when the course was a modest 9-hole facility, and my older brother had taken  me up there for my first round of golf.

There are a couple of things you need to know about this. Like I said, I had never played golf on a real golf course before so I didn’t own any clubs, and obviously I didn’t have much regard for golf etiquette since I remember I was wearing not a golf shirt but wrinkled shorts and a tie-dyed Allman Brothers Band T-shirt.

So naturally if you work at a golf course and some kid in a tie-dyed T-shirt (the Allman Brothers no less!) without any clubs walks up to the first tee, you have reason to be skeptical. And sure enough, before my brother and I tee off, the starter calls out to my brother, “Has he ever played golf before?”

I looked at my brother. My brother turned to the starter.

“He plays in school,” he said, which technically was true as long as you consider hitting whiffle balls on a football field playing golf in school.

This was enough for the starter to at least not persist with any more questions, but he was obviously watching intently when I pulled a driver from my brother’s bag and stuck a tee in the ground for the first time.

So there’s me, standing over the ball. There’s the starter with his arms folded disdainfully across his chest. And there’s my brother knowing we’re probably one worm-burner away from being told we have to take our business elsewhere (my brother was a tennis pro in the summer in those days and he got roughly one day off a month, so if we did get kicked off, he was probably done for the season).

Of course all of this is going through my head as I was standing over the ball, and yet somehow I take the club back, swipe through it, and send a drive down the center of the fairway maybe 200 yards out.

My brother, not wanting to betray how extraordinary this really is, simply said, “Good ball.” The starter, suddenly satisfied, retreated to his starter’s hut. I picked up the tee, hand the driver back to my brother, and start off down the fairway, all the while smiling like a fool.

Needless to say, I didn’t hit another ball in the air the rest of the day.

But that drive was still the most clutch shot I ever hit.

In a related story to today’s Tiger Woods bombshell is this report in which Retief Goosen says he was only joking when he said Woods was faking his knee injury during the Open.

“I was joking, really. I mean, how do I know? I never spoke to the guy,” Goosen said. “He’s got a sore knee, yes, and at the end of the day it’s a great achievement by Tiger winning his 14th major. But I wouldn’t really know how sore or not his knee was. Obviously if his knee was really bad he would have withdrawn. I won’t say I knew he was faking it. How would I know? Anyway, it’s great to see that he’s recovering well and that he’s back on form.”

The news is starting to filter its way onto web sites all across the country: Tiger Woods’ 2008 golf season appears over.

For the latest news, click here.

According to a report by The Golf Channel, Woods has decided to undergo season-ending knee surgery. The world’s No. 1 golfer suffered a stress fracture in his left tibia about two weeks before the U.S. Open and needs to have his ACL repaired.

The PGA Tour will certainly suffer having its top draw on the sidelines. In the meantime, those who thought he was faking it, including several of my colleagues, owe Mr. Woods an apology.

This makes his recent win over Rocco Mediate in a grueling 19-hole playoff even more amazing and only adds to his legend. Even with just one good leg, Tiger proved he’s still the best in the world. Only time will tell if this will derail his quest to shatter every record.

That hiss you’re hearing is the air going out of the rest of the golf season.

The AP’s indefatigable Doug Ferguson breaks the story of Tiger Woods now being forced to miss the rest of the year because he needs more surgery on his left knee.

And to think at one point I thought Woods may have been embellishing his injury a bit.

Was one U.S. Open title worth the rest of his season? Knowing Woods, I’d have to think so.

So why was this U.S. Open in particular so riveting?

Yes, there was the compelling theater of seeing the game’s greatest player stared down by a guy who could easily be your next door neighbor. There was the golf course set dramatically on the bluffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. There was the energy emanating from grandstands overflowing with people, not all of whom sounded like they were drinking bottled water.

It was all that, but let’s not forget that it was also a course setup in which players were allowed to play. Make no mistake, Torrey Pines was confounding this week: tight fairways, dense rough, hard greens—all the standard fare we’ve come to expect from our crafty friends at the USGA. But as opposed to the usual back-up fest we see at U.S. Opens, here players were actually allowed to play something resembling golf.

I know a lot of people out there who would love to see an endless parade of triple bogeys at U.S. Opens, but most of these people simply didn’t get enough attention as children.

I prefer what we had today, the perfect balance of utterly difficult conditions, and two players occasionally capable of standing up to them.

If you didn’t like it, you’re probably in the minority (any moment now I should be inundated with e-mails from the PR department at NBC Sports telling me how this was the greatest telecast since the final episode of “MASH”). But don’t worry. Next year it’s off to Bethpage Black, where we can all be miserable together.

Tiger made an easy par on the 7th hole, the first sudden-death playoff hole, to win the 2008 U.S. Open.

For Tiger, it’s his 14th major, but perhaps his most memorable coming back from the knee surgery and making so many memorable putts/shots. Two days in a row he made birdie on the final hole to extend his tournament. Just an absolute machine.

What an amazing job by Rocco though. He fell behind early and then again by three, but never gave up. His spirited rally puts him in the Bob May category of pros that have actually challenged Tiger down the stretch at a major. I’m sure there are a lot of fans out there that would like to see that same kind of resolve from some of the other big names in golf.

What a week. Sadly, it is all over now (The tough venue, Johnny Miller’s commentary, the Yanni written NBC theme music). It’s hard to top the U.S. Open for great sporting events throughout the year.

As for this year’s version, not 72, not 90, but 91 holes were needed to finish this it in what will most certainly go down as one of the most memorable U.S. Opens of all-time. It’s only fitting that the player on the path to be the greatest of all-time wound up being the golfer to pull out a victory.

So a sudden-death playoff isn’t what the USGA wants after the fourth round, but it’s good enough following an 18-hole playoff? Interesting.

Anyway, Tiger Woods just drained a four-footer for birdie on the 18th hole to force a playoff with Rocco Mediate. He took his time studying the putt, but was there ever a doubt he would make it?

They are going to the par-4 7th for the playoff. Another interesting choice. Woods made birdie there today while Mediate made par. We’ll see what happens the second time around.

Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate are walking up towards the 17th green and stunningly, Mediate is currently a shot ahead. Birdies on 13, 14, and 15 got Mediate back to even par and Tiger simply hasn’t been able to answer.

If Woods is to pull this one out, he is probably going to need another dose of magic on No. 18. If you’re not fortunate enough to have a TV right above your head at work like I do, stay tuned…

Tiger Woods continues to drain putts as Rocco Mediate misses out on opportunities. Tiger is now three shots ahead at even-par through 10 holes, while Mediate is at +3.

It’s also interesting that Rocco chose a red shirt when it’s kind of become an unwritten rule that Tiger is the only one allowed to wear red in the final round. Maybe 18-hole playoffs don’t count.

I remember someone Tiger was playing with in the final round wearing red just one other time. That occurred when Luke Donald wore red at the 2006 PGA Championship at Medinah. Donald entered the round tied, but by the ninth hole, he trailed Tiger by five shots. Mediate could be headed for a similar fate, but something tells me Rocco will make things a little more interesting today.

So Tiger made par on the first hole, which has terrorized him all week, and Rocco Mediate made a predictable opening bogey.

It looked like we were heading for an obvious outcome as well, but on the scenic par-3 3rd hole, Tiger’s tee shot buried in the bunker and Rocco answered with a near ace. It looks like Mediate will probably take the lead now, so the tide has turned… for now.