I got covered in gnat bites last week.

The little blighters had me for dinner on a dog walk in the woods and condemned me to days of non-stop scratching at work.

But just when I started feeling sorry for myself, I switched on the golf.

And there was Tiger Woods.

Talk about putting everything into perspective. I’m moaning about a few itchy blotches on my elbow and he’s playing five rounds in the US Open on one leg! Has there ever been a more courageous sporting effort than that shown by the Tiger at Torrey Pines?

I’m far too young to remember Bert Trautmann playing through the FA Cup final complaining of a slightly sore neck – which later turned out to have been broken.

But Woods has suffered in agony through five days, hobbling and wincing with every shot.

He came into the US Open totally undercooked having not played – nor even walked – 18 holes since the last day of the Masters in mid-April.

No wonder his triumph on the sudden-death hole after the extra round defied logic and belief. Such a triumph inevitably carried a heavy price. After the damage caused, Woods will have his left knee completely reconstructed – and will not be seen on another course this year.

So no Woods in the Ryder Cup nor at Birkdale for the Open. His rivals may issue a huge sigh of relief but will also know that any victory will feel hollow because they haven’t beaten THE man.

They say no one player is ever bigger than the sport. In golf that is patently not true. Tiger-less tournaments? They might as well scratch them now.