It was hard enough for Tiger Woods to win his 14th major golf championship in an epic 19-hole playoff with Rocco Mediate. But he did so with a fractured left leg and a torn ligament in his left knee that will require reconstructive surgery, ending the 2008 season for the world's No. 1 player.

Just two days after he won the 108th U.S. Open at Torrey Pines in California, Mr. Woods said he will have surgery to repair his anterior cruciate ligament and will not play again until the 2009 season. That means he will miss the final two majors of the season -- the British Open and PGA Championship -- and the Ryder Cup and FedEx Cup playoffs. Mr. Woods has never missed a major championship since turning professional.

"While I am obviously disappointed to have to miss the remainder of the season, I have to do the right thing for my long-term health and look forward to returning to competitive golf when my doctors agree that my knee is sufficiently healthy," Mr. Woods said yesterday in a statement released by International Management Group, the management firm that represents him. "My doctors assure me with the proper rehabilitation and training, the knee will be strong, and there will be no long-term effects."

Mr. Woods said the double stress fracture of his left tibia was discovered several weeks before the U.S. Open, the result of what IMG called his "intense rehabilitation and preparation" for the U.S. Open. But he elected to compete at Torrey Pines and not disclose the extent of his injury until the appropriate time, hoping it wouldn't create a distraction for the United States Golf Association.

Still, it was apparent Mr. Woods was having difficulty with his knee, especially on the weekend when he held the 54-hole lead and forced a playoff with Mr. Mediate, a Greensburg native, with a birdie on the final hole of regulation.

He was playing for the first time since having arthroscopic knee surgery to clean up some torn cartilage April 15, two days after the Masters, and he limped and walked gingerly, sometimes using his club as a walking cane. After several tee shots, he would wince and bend over in pain, once using his right hand to touch the ground and maintain his balance.

"I was determined, though, to do everything and anything in my power to play in the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, which is a course that is close to where I grew up and holds many special memories for me," Mr. Woods said. "Although I will miss the rest of the 2008 season, I'm thrilled with the fact that last week was such a special tournament."

Mr. Woods' knee problems began after the British Open in 2007 when he tore the ACL when he was running at his home in Orlando, Fla. He elected to forgo surgery and play with pain, even winning five of the next six events he entered that year.

Mr. Woods was hoping an extended rest would help heal the knee, but the pain persisted this season, even though he won the first four events he entered, including three on the PGA Tour. After the Masters, he had surgery to remove some loose cartilage that developed as a result of the ACL injury. Mr. Woods was hoping that surgery would allow him to continue to play and delay the ACL surgery until after the season.

"Now it is clear the right thing to do is listen to my doctors, follow through with this surgery and focus my attention on rehabilitating my knee," Mr. Woods said.

No date has been set for his knee surgery. Doctors have assured Mr. Woods the stress fracture will heal with time.

Dr. Susan Jordan, an orthopaedic surgeon for UPMC South Side who specializes in knee surgeries, said a torn ACL can sometimes lead to a tear of the meniscus because "your knee can shift at any point, and that's what can tear the meniscus." Meniscus tears are also commonly referred to as loose cartilage.

She said, however, that stress fractures usually develop over a long period of time and are typically associated with people who are subjected to pounding on hard surfaces.

In athletes, meniscus tears often happen in combination with other injuries such as a torn anterior cruciate ligament, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Web site.

Dr. Jordan, who played golf at Duke University, was speaking only in generic terms and not specifically about Mr. Woods' injury. She said people who tear the ACL, regardless if they have surgery, are more prone to developing arthritis. This will be the fourth time Mr. Woods will have a surgical procedure on his left knee.

"For an athlete as talented and competitive as Tiger Woods, taking the rest of the season off must have been an incredibly difficult, yet necessary decision, one that we understand and support completely," said PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem. "The fact that he needs additional surgery only makes his performance and victory at last week's U.S. Open all the more impressive."

Mr. Finchem now has a problem of his own: How to maintain, or perhaps even create, excitement for the PGA Tour without its marquee player.

The playoff Monday with Mr. Mediate, which was televised by NBC, drew the highest rating for a U.S. Open in 30 years. Typically, though, tournaments without Mr. Woods in the field result in double-digit declines in TV audiences.

"That's a tough one for us because he's the marquee name in sports," said Stewart Cink on PGATour.com.

Mr. Woods defeated Mr. Cink in the 36-hole final of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship earlier this season.

Mr. Woods, who leads the PGA Tour money list with $5.755 million, also was America's top hope for the Ryder Cup matches against Europe scheduled at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky., in September. Because he was assured a spot on the team with his victory in the U.S. Open, the player who finishes No. 9 in the point standings will now get the automatic spot.

U.S. Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger will have to do without the icon who has earned almost three times as many Ryder Cup points as the No. 2 player, Phil Mickelson.

"I admire Tiger as a person, player and fan," Mr. Azinger said. "This should not be about Tiger and the Ryder Cup now. This is about Tiger's health and well-being and his march to history."

"It's a tremendous loss," said pro Olin Browne, a three-time PGA Tour winner and an assistant captain for the U.S. Ryder Cup team. "He's the guy that makes people never miss watching our sport on TV."

Kenny Perry, a 10-time PGA Tour winner, was even more to the point: "He is our tour."

Hank Haney, the swing coach for Mr. Woods, said the knee injury has limited the amount of time he can practice.

"He's been playing way less than 100 percent for a long, long, time," Mr. Haney said. "It has limited him a lot in practice. He's going to come back better than he's ever been."