TIGER WOODS: HIS 7 BIGGEST PUBLIC ENEMIES ON THE PGA TOUR – News
Tiger Woods is (hopefully) on his way back to the PGA Tour… but not everyone will be happy.
While it’s great to see Woods on the course again, it remains to be seen how many tournaments the 15-time major champion will be able to play on the PGA Tour in 2024.
It’s fair to say that not everyone is excited about Woods’ return, especially these seven:
#1 – PAT PEREZ
The golf world has never known Pat Perez to have such strong feelings for Tiger Woods.
That was until he spoke about the former world No. 1 on his own Sirius XM Show in 2017.
“The bottom line is he knows he can’t beat anyone,” Perez said.
“He started this new company so he had to keep his name relevant to keep the company going.
“He will appear at a few events, he will try to compete. He has to go out there and show the Monster Bag, he’ll show the TaylorMade driver.
“He’s going to be on TV, he’s got to keep that stuff relevant.”
Perez later retracted his comments and told the media that his words were taken out of context.
“I have an opinion about Tiger and I said it,” he told ESPN.
“No one wants to see Tiger come back, compete and win more than me.”
Perez and Woods reportedly exchanged text messages after those comments, and Woods was understandably upset by them.
Never abandon Tiger.
#2 – Sergio GARCIA
If there was one match the golf world expected to see more of it was that of Woods and Sergio Garcia.
With the exception of the final round of the 1999 US PGA Championship, when a fresh-faced Garcia closed in on Woods for the title but was denied in the closing holes, their battle has only become more intense than before. outside the wire.
“The reason Tiger didn’t like him was because in the clubhouse, he once saw Sergio look up at the TV screen and spit out someone’s golf ball,” said Earl, Woods’ late father. avoid losses… that’s why he didn’t use Sergio.”
Woods and Garcia’s biggest spat occurred on the golf course in 2013 at the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass. Woods appeared to pull a club while Garcia continued to make his errant shot… before throwing his toy out of the cart. There have been various explanations as to exactly what happened, but Sergio is clearly not happy.
Their feud deepened when Garcia made what many considered a racially insensitive joke about Woods at an awards banquet before the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.
Garcia and Woods don’t like each other, and now they often have to bow their heads when they encounter each other in the locker room.
#3 – CHAMBLEE BRAND
Brandel Chamblee, a one-time PGA Tour champion, is probably the one who hates Tiger Woods the most of them all.
Chamblee, a longtime Golf Channel analyst, has often been an outspoken critic of Woods over the years.
Like Garcia, 2013 was the year things escalated a bit when Chamblee believed Woods was a “cavalier with the rules” during the second round of The Masters.
Woods received two strokes for what was deemed an improper drop on the par-5 15th hole, turning his six shots into a triple-bogey eight.
Although Chamblee never used the word “deceiver,” he clearly implied it.
Woods was voted Player of the Year by his peers, but Chamblee gave his season an “F” grade for apparent violations at Augusta.
#4 – STEVE WILLIAM
Tiger Woods won 13 of his 15 professional tournaments with Steve Williams on the bag and it is estimated he won about $12 million working for Woods during their 12-year relationship. Not bad at all for not even hitting a single shot.
Williams took an elbow from Woods in 2011, and then quickly let the world know how he felt when he helped Adam Scott win the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational shortly after.
“I’ve been a caddy for 33 years, I’ve had 145 wins so far and that’s the best win I’ve ever had,” Williams said after Scott’s victory.
The following day, Williams expressed regret for his comments, noting that they were “outrageous”.
“I was angry about what happened (to Woods) and it all came out,” he said.
Williams then complicated things at the caddy awards dinner during the WGC-HSBC Championship at the end of the season by shockingly saying: “My aim was to push it right up to the black [expletive] there.”
It’s fair to say that the love between Woods and Williams is lost today.
“One thing that really annoyed me was the way he [Woods] threw the club in the general direction of the bag, expecting me to go over and pick it up,” Williams wrote in ‘Out of the Rough’. .
“I felt uncomfortable bending down to pick up the stick he had thrown away – it was as if I were his slave.”
#5 – HANK HANEY
Hank Haney worked as Woods’ golf coach for six years, during which time he won six professional titles.
It was a fruitful relationship after the golden years of working with Butch Harmon.
However, Woods’ time under Haney coincided with several surgeries and his “indefinite break from golf”.
Things quickly fell apart and Woods then left Haney to work with Sean Foley after the 2010 Players Championship.
In 2013, Haney published a book about his time working with Woods titled ‘The Big Miss’.
Woods took exception to many things in the book, including Haney’s revelation that Woods wanted to leave golf and join the Seals.
The book also reveals that Haney liked everything Steve Williams said about him when it came to being a “slave”.
“Steve Williams is the last person in the world to lie. He didn’t do it, so obviously it happened,” Haney said.
#6 – TOM WATSON
It’s fair to say that Tom Watson and Woods will never be close friends.
From cursing and club-smashing to objective disdain, Watson has been troubled by Woods’ antics for some time.
Golf is a gentleman’s game and players should act accordingly in Watson’s eyes.
“I felt that he didn’t have the same stature as other great players like Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Byron Nelson, the Hogans, in the sense of having the language and throwing the club on the golf course,” Watson said. .
GolfMagic even heard from a former European Ryder Cup captain that Watson reacted strongly when he heard Woods “demanded team orders and threw weights across the U.S. Ryder Cup team room.”
Watson wasn’t having it.
The eight-time Major champion rarely comes out and expresses his honest opinion about Woods, but he once used the sarcastic response of “Tiger doesn’t need my advice.”
Watson was also a bit confused before the 2014 Ryder Cup when Woods withdrew due to injury.
While Woods’ statement made it appear he had been in contact with team captain Watson, he said he only learned of Woods’ withdrawal after calling him.
#7 – RORY SABBATINI
Let’s just say there are better-looking PGA Tour pros out there than Slovakia’s Rory Sabbatini.
“I want Tiger,” Sabbatini demanded during the 2007 Players Championship.
“Everybody wants Tiger. I want him to get it this week and we’ll be there at the end of Sunday.
“I think he’s more beatable than ever.”
Woods replied: “I figure I’ve won nine of the last 12 tournaments and I’ve won three this year – the same amount he’s won in his career.”
Later that year, Sabbatini left town before the fourth round of Woods’ Hero World Challenge tournament… a way to get off Tiger’s Christmas Card list.
Then again, Sabbatini probably doesn’t have many people on the PGA Tour.
