Can golf survive Tiger Woods' 4-6 week break from competitive play after the game's best player went under the knife Tuesday to take care of a bothersome knee injury?

Of course the answer is yes, if only The Golf Channel and the major networks will acknowledge that while Tiger is the best when he's playing his best, there are plenty of standouts on Tour without him. Start with Trevor Immelman after the South African's first major win last weekend at The Masters. Then there is Geoff Ogilvy, the 2006 U.S. Open champ  at Winged Foot and who beat Woods and everyone else straight up at Doral last month.

There's always Phil Mickelson, TV's other favorite, who would probably be better served to quick experimenting with various clubs and just play his game.

There's Ernie Els, probably needs to settle on one coach -- be it Butch Harmon or whomever -- and get focused in the majors.

There's always Vijay Singh, especially if it doesn't come down to putting. 

Woods will miss up to  six weeks, it was reported, due to arthroscopic surgery that took care of a knee problem that had plagued him since last season. Athletes in more physical sports than golf often return from arthroscopic surgery sooner than six weeks, so we're wondering if Woods' timetable is geared more toward missing lesser tournaments likew the Wachovia and The Players and having his game in tip-top shape for Torrey Pines and the U.S. Open June 12-15?

Woods was unlikely to play anywhere else but the Wachovia and The Players before the Open anyway, and we all know the priority for Woods when it comes to majors vs. "bigger" Tour events. Don't even bother wondering if Woods was going to play the Stanford St. Jude in Memphis the week before the U.S. Open.

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There is no online link, but readers of Golf Digest's quarterly Index can check out David Owen's high appraisal of The Alotian Club, Warren Stephens' golfing enclave in Roland. Our source tells us the photos that accompany the feature are amazing.

Jerry Tarde, editor of Golf Digest and its other products, writes in his online "editor's letter" about the spring Index that Alotian is high up on his list of courses to play this year. It has to be nice to be able to show up and play at a course considered so exclusive as Alotian. It was be nice if we could say that Alotian, along with Augusta National and Pine Valley are 1-2-3 in our courses to hit in 2008 and know with confidence we'd do so.

The good news for the state's media, as well as some lucky children from First Tee's in Fort Smith and Little Rock and the Episcopal Collegiate School, is that they'll join Alotian members on May 5 when Jack Nicklaus is the guest of honor for the Jackson T. Stephens Charity Tournament at the club. Nicklaus follows inaugural invitee Tiger Woods and last year's guest, Phil Mickelson, for this third edition of the tournament.

Last year, guests of the Mickelson event were allowed to follow him around the course. The year before, Woods was hit by a cold and had to bail just after his exhibition. Rain clouds converged over the area before the first two events as well. Odds seem to favor a nice day for Nicklaus next month.