Just off one of the most remarkable performances of his amazing career, Tiger Woods is going on the shelf for the rest of this golf season and probably for a good chunk of next season rehabilitating from surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. This will be Woods’ second surgery on his left knee in two months and his fourth since 1994.

But first, a few comments on last week’s U.S. Open.

Frankly, it’s been difficult this close to the thrilling tournament to provide any decent perspective of the event.

Unquestionably, the tournament will go down as one of the most entertaining U.S. Opens of the modern era. Torrey Pines is a great muny golf course, but it’s not considered an architectural gem on the level of many other U.S. Open venues, so there really was not much anticipation going into the tournament that the course would produce a particularly memorable event.

Nevertheless, to the surprise of most golf fans, the USGA wisely moved away from its draconian past course set-ups and arranged Torrey Pines in a first-class manner that facilitated the competition rather than restricting it.

That set the stage for 45-year-old journeyman Rocco Mediate — ranked 158th in the World Rankings coming into the tournament and without a win on the Tour since 2002 — to somehow find a rhythm over the week that allowed him to take the best player in the history of the game to the brink of a crushing loss on two different occasions.

One of the friendliest players on the Tour, Mediate looked all weekend as if he was just as surprised as everyone else that he was battling Woods toe-to-toe. Amazingly, had he been able to hit a decent wedge shot on either Sunday or Monday to set up a birdie on the relatively easy par-5 18th hole, Rocco Mediate — not Tiger Woods — would be the 2008 U.S. Open champion.

Meanwhile, playing on what we now know is a torn ACL a couple of stress fractures in his left tibia (an injury apparently suffered during rehab from his recent knee surgery), Woods was certainly not at his best during the tournament, perhaps best reflected by the fact that he double-bogeyed the par-4 first hole three times in the first four rounds.

But those missteps were offset by Woods’ extraordinary play at other times, such as his three eagles on the par-5’s and holing more clutch putts than any player in the field.

Stated simply, Woods and Mediate put on a great show that will rank as one of the best U.S. Opens ever.

Sadly, however, Woods’ once-in-a-lifetime talent will not be on display for a good while now. What is perhaps most baffling about Woods’ injury is that it is largely self-inflicted.

He has unwisely for years included a frequent long-distance running regimen in his intense exercise protocol, which has at least contributed to the injury in his left knee. Woods’ running program reflects a common and destructive misconception within America society that “more is better” when it comes to exercise.

In fact, allowing the body to recover adequately after intensive periods of exercise is at least as important to good health as the exercise itself.

Although we will almost certainly read stories over the coming days on how Woods will come back even stronger and better after the surgery, my sense is that he is facing almost certain chronic arthritis in his left knee and total knee replacement surgery within 10 years or so.

I sincerely hope that Woods’ stubborn adherence to a physically-damaging exercise regimen does not end up taking from us the enjoyment of watching one of the most gifted athletes of our time compete at the highest level of his ability.