The Golfather! Who will step up to be the new Don?

Posted on 04/08/08. By David Connor

When Don Vito Corleone was gunned down in the street by his mafia rivals there was a void at the head of the family.

With their figurehead incapacitated and the Corleone family's reputation plummeting there was an opportunity for one man to step up to the plate and become the new Godfather.

Now Tiger Woods is the Godfather - the Golfather if you will - who has been gunned down, not by a hail of bullets but by a damaged knee and a stress fracture to his tibia.

The injury will see Don Woods miss the rest of the season - including the remaining major championship this weekend - leaving a void at the top that must be filled. There can be no doubt today's top players live in Woods' shadow. So much so that when Sergio Garcia won The Players Championship at Sawgrass in May he thanked the world number one for not being there.

Now two major championships - last month's Open and the US PGA - have been declared Tiger-free zones and this means the c...