Tiger Woods will miss the rest of the golf season because he needs major knee surgery.

The world number one will have an operation on his anterior cruciate ligament and rehabilitate a stress fracture of his left tibia, according to a statement on his website.

He made the decision to have surgery on his troublesome left knee for a second time just two days after winning his 14th major championship by defeating Rocco Mediate in a dramatic play-off at the US Open.

But there were question marks over his knee after he was spotted limping during the tournament.

Woods said in a statement: "I know much was made of my knee throughout the last week, and it was important to me that I disclose my condition publicly at an appropriate time.

"I wanted to be very respectful of the USGA and their incredibly hard work, and make sure the focus was on the US Open.

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

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