”The stories stating Tiger will return at the matchplay have no truth to them,” Steve Williams told the Herald this past weekend. Two more weeks before Woods returns? Three more? Six? The exact timing is not half as important as the question of how many majors will be played by the world No.1 this year.
Appearing for the matchplay event would be an incredibly magnanimous gesture given Accenture was one of the first sponsors to dump him – but there seems little doubt the time is right.
Williams, meanwhile, isn’t exactly in full-blown preparation mode for a return to the tour. The most recent entry under his work and play schedule on his website, which normally contains a long list of golfing commitments, simply said: ”Currently, there are no events listed in the selected category.”
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Tiger Woods plans to help with relief efforts in earthquake-ravaged Haiti by supporting groups providing resources to children.
The president of the Tiger Woods Foundation says he hasn’t received any information from rap mogul Russell Simmons, who has said on Twitter that Woods is providing $3 million to help with the recovery.
Foundation president Greg McLaughlin says Woods’ staff is evaluating the best way to help the Haitian people.
McLaughlin says supporting groups aimed at youth services would be consistent with what Woods’ foundation has done previous with relief efforts of Hurricane Katrina and the tsunami in Indonesia.
Tiger Woods, engulfed in media speculation over his private life after a car accident in the middle of the night, apologized on Wednesday for “transgressions” in a statement that apparently addressed allegations he had extra-marital relationships.
Tiger said in a statement published on his website that he had “not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves,” without directly addressing the allegations of infidelity.
US Weekly magazine reported that Jaimee Grubbs, a 24-year-old cocktail waitress from California, claimed to have had a 31-month-long affair with Woods and said she had saved hundreds of text messages to prove it.
Tiger Woods withdrew Monday from his own golf tournament, citing injuries from a car crash near his Florida home. He said he would not compete again until next year.
Woods said in a statement on his Web site that his injuries prevented him from playing in the Chevron World Challenge, which he hosts annually for a small, invited, field.“I am extremely disappointed that I will not be at my tournament this week,” Woods said. “I am certain it will be an outstanding event and I’m very sorry that I can’t be there.”
His decision to withdraw comes after a car crash left him with cuts and bruises when his SUV hit a fire hydrant and a tree at 2:25 a.m. Friday outside his home in an exclusive, gated community near Orlando. Woods was treated and released from a hospital after the accident, and has not been seen in public since.
By skipping the tournament, Woods will escape having to face TV cameras and a horde of media seeking more details about the smashup. The tournament was to be the last of the year for Woods anyway, but he did not say just when he would make his return next year.
Woods released a statement Sunday saying the accident was his fault, but he did not address any of the questions still swirling around it. He asked that it remain “a private matter,” but with the Florida Highway Patrol still investigating and the media in full pursuit, Woods may not get his way.
With another signature moment at Firestone, Tiger Woods won the Bridgestone Invitational on Sunday with a spectacular shot over water to a foot that sent him to a 5-under 65 and a remarkable rally over Padraig Harrington.
Woods has won this World Golf Championship seven times in 10 starts, and he became the first player in PGA Tour history to win seven times on the same golf course.
He now goes to the PGA Championship with two straight victories after missing the cut at Turnberry last month.
Harrington helped make this four-shot victory possible. From behind the green on par-5 16th, after Woods had stuffed his 8-iron to within tap-in range for birdie, the Irishman hit over the green and into the water and made triple bogey.
It was the 70th career victory for Woods.
Angel Cabrera merely stole away with the Masters green jacket Sunday night.
Trailing by three strokes with six holes of regulation remaining, stymied behind a tree after his first shot on the first playoff hole, Cabrera turned the 73rd Masters into a great escape. Cabrera outlasted Perry and Chad Campbell in a sudden-death playoff by scratching out two pars.
Cabrera, a 39-year-old Argentine, is the first South American to win the Masters. Coupled with a 2007 U.S. Open victory at Oakmont, Pa. Cabrera has won two of the past eight majors.
Cabrera was the only one to miss the fairway on the first playoff hole — the No. 465-yard No. 18. Stuck behind a tree, Cabrera lashed a 4-iron that ricocheted into the middle of the fairway, 114 yards from the hole. Cabrera wedged to within six feet and made a tricky downhill put to save an especially nerve-wracking par.
“At this stage of the tournament,” Cabrera said, “any player who says he does not feel nerves, he’s not human.”
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Personally, I was glad to see Tiger Woods finally come out of his a political cocoon and give a speech during the Barack Obama inauguration festivities Sunday in D.C.
Wasn’t it refreshing to see the world’s most famous athlete finally endorse something other than a Buick or a bottle of Gatorade?
Woods, much like Michael Jordan — his predecessor as this country’s most successful sports-connected corporate pitchman — has been reticent about expressing his views on politics and other controversial issues. Remember Jordan’s famous quote several years ago when asked about supporting a Democratic candidate? “Republicans,” he said, “buy sneakers, too.”
Truth be told, many athletes are Republican in ideology because of their huge salaries and a strong desire to pay lower taxes on those huge salaries. Even so, many African-American professional athletes have backed Obama, no doubt because of the color of his skin more than his stance on national health care and his proposed plan to fix the economy.
Does this make these athletes hypocritical or human?
Doesn’t matter to me who you vote for or why, I just think it’s good that Obama has inspired so many people, including Tiger, to get involved in the political process.
What about you: Are you glad Tiger has finally taken a stand or did you like him better when he kept his politics to himself?
The closest Tiger Woods will get to the Ryder Cup is in front of his television.
Despite speculation on various Web sites that Woods planned to show up at Valhalla Golf Club this week, he said Tuesday in a monthly newsletter he has no intention of coming.
“I plan to watch the Ryder Cup this week, but I will not attend,” Woods said. “U.S. captain Paul Azinger has my cell phone number and he or any U.S. player can call me any time. If I can offer any assistance, I’m happy to help.”
Woods has a 10-13-2 record in his five Ryder Cup appearances. He had season-ending knee surgery two weeks after winning the U.S. Open for this 14th major. Woods’ absence means the United States does not have a current major champion on its team for the first time since the Ryder Cup began in 1927.
Woods has said he has not watched much golf since his surgery, and is not sure how much help he could be, although he won the PGA Championship at Valhalla in 2000.
“I doubt I can do much, since I can’t play practice rounds and am not privy to their team chemistry,” Woods said. “I also don’t know who is playing well, who is injured, and have no feel for how the course is playing. But I’ll be happy to offer my opinion. I wish the American team well and hope they can bring back the Cup.”
