Chris Carlson / AP

Tiger Woods played through pain at the U.S. Open, but now he's got to think about his career.

But I’m going to be selfish here. I want Tiger to take the smart road not for him but for both his sport and the people whose lives are enriched by being privileged enough to see him work his wonders on the golf course.

I want to see him play another 10 years or more. I want to see him try to win one last major at the age of 46 like Jack did. I want to see him win a tournament when he’s on the bad side of 50. I want to see him win 25 majors, if such a thing is possible. I want to see him give the sport everything he has for as long as he possibly can.

And he can’t do that if he takes the hero route. There’s no future in it and no point in it, either. If he were a football player, I’d congratulate him on coming back too soon and trying to help his team win a Super Bowl. I’d say the same if he were playing any other team sport. Careers in those sports — especially football — are brutally short anyway. You may as well go out in a blaze of glory.

Woods has had his blaze of glory during those hellish five days and 91 holes at Torrey Pines on Father’s Day. He had it for most of the previous year when he played 12 tournaments without an ACL and won 9 of them. He had it for the decade he’s been playing on a partially flat tire.

I’m not saying he shouldn’t walk to the first tee if he’s not perfectly healthy. He’s human and he’s in his 30s. There are always going to be aches and pains. I’m just saying he shouldn’t start his comeback until the knee is as healed as it can get.

It’s for me, not him. The PGA Tour is not the same without him. I’ll still watch it because I love golf. But it won’t be as exciting. I can put up with it for six months or a year or however long it takes before he comes back. But when he does come back, I want to keep him around for as long as possible.

So be smart, Tiger. Give the knee the time it needs. We don’t need courage. We need you.