Winning either of the next two majors - or indeed the Ryder Cup - will not be devalued because Tiger Woods is out injured.
That was the opinion of Colin Montgomerie as golfers the world over continued to react to the world number one taking the rest of the season off to recover from more knee surgery and two stress fractures in his left leg.
"Everybody is disappointed he won't be at the Open or PGA or other world events," said Montgomerie. "But health is number one and we have to go by that.
"It puts the whole thing into perspective in a big, big hurry. We wish him well and we realise now with him not playing the power one individual has in the game."
Asked, though, if success at Royal Birkdale next month or Oakland Hills in August would mean less, the 44-year-old Scot added: "Not at all - in four years' time you won't know if Tiger Woods was playing or not."
While he has still not won a major, Montgomerie has, of course, captured a record eight European Order of Merit titles and on that he commented: "One of the main reasons I was doing that is because I was healthy."
Bernhard Langer, captain of Europe's Ryder Cup team when they won by a record nine points on American soil four years ago, believes Woods' absence from this year's match has to harm America's chances.
"As a captain I would love to have him on my side and if he can't play I think it's for the worse.
"It is unbelievable what he has done (in his career) and hopefully he will recover real soon.
"I don't know exactly what injury he has, but I've spoken to a couple of physios and they said it's a serious injury. There could be some chance he might not play again or play to the level he has - but I hope for him, he is very determined and a great athlete.
"There again, we've seen other athletes coming back after being told they have no chance."
Florida-based Langer does not think the Ryder Cup atmosphere will be affected - "it's a thing by itself" - but other tournaments that he plays in are bound to suffer both in crowd figures and television ratings.
The main beneficiary might be world number two Phil Mickelson, who suddenly has an unexpected chance to make it to number one.
It has been calculated that should Mickelson win either The Open or PGA, a world championship and two other events, he could overtake Woods by the end of the year.
And if Woods is out until The Masters next April then his points average by then would be close to what Mickelson's is now.
The fact that Woods won his 14th major at the US Open on Monday given the state his body was in continues to defy belief.
England's Ross Fisher said: "To go out and win with a knee injury like that is phenomenal.
"It just shows how mentally strong he is and what a great golfer he is. To hear he is not going to play for the rest of the year is a massive blow to golf.
"Guys might think they have a chance now, but personally I think it is very, very sad. You play to beat the best players in the world and the best player won't be there.
"I have experienced playing with Tiger and that is what you dream about from an early age."
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