Goosen says he was joking about Woods faking knee pain

MUNICH (Reuters) - South African Retief Goosen said on Wednesday he had been joking when he suggested Tiger Woods had faked the extent of his knee pain at the U.S. Open.

Woods, who won his third U.S. Open title after a playoff with Rocco Mediate on Monday, looked in obvious pain throughout the tournament after arthroscopic surgery on his left knee two months ago.

Goosen was quoted as saying: "Nobody knows if he (Woods) was just showing off". When asked if he thought Woods might have been faking the extent of his knee pain, he replied: "I think he was."

However, Goosen told Reuters on Wednesday before playing in the BMW International Open pro-am that he had not been serious.

"I was joking, really. I mean, how do I know? I never spoke to the guy," Goosen said.

"He's got a sore knee, yes, and at the end of the day it's a great achievement by Tiger winning his 14th major.

"But I wouldn't really know how sore or not his knee was. Obviously if his knee was really bad he would have withdrawn.

"I won't say I knew he was faking it. How would I know?

"Anyway, it's great to see that he's recovering well and that he's back on form."

Twice U.S. Open champion Goosen plays this week's German event after 14th place finish in San Diego, trying to go one better than a playoff defeat in this event in 2006.

"Last week (in the U.S. Open) it was two bad rounds, two good rounds. Hopefully I can put all four good ones together this week," added Goosen. "I didn't putt that great last week but I'm working hard on it and hopefully it comes back this week."

(Editing by John Mehaffey)