Tiger Speaks

Statement from TigerWoods.com

As you all know, I had a single-car accident earlier this week, and sustained some injuries. I have some cuts, bruising and right now I'm pretty sore.

This situation is my fault, and it's obviously embarrassing to my family and me. I'm human and I'm not perfect. I will certainly make sure this doesn't happen again.

This is a private matter and I want to keep it that way. Although I understand there is curiosity, the many false, unfounded and malicious rumors that are currently circulating about my family and me are irresponsible.

The only person responsible for the accident is me. My wife, Elin, acted courageously when she saw I was hurt and in trouble. She was the first person to help me. Any other assertion is absolutely false.

This incident has been stressful and very difficult for Elin, our family and me. I appreciate all the concern and well wishes that we have received. But, I would also ask for some understanding that my family and I deserve some privacy no matter how intrusive some people can be.

Happy Thanksgiving

With the 2009 season about over, there are just a few more notable events to watch out for.

The Tiger World Challenge in December.
Q School.

2009 PGA Tour: What could have been

There were a lot of great moments throughout the 2009 season, and there were even more what if and what could have been moments.

• Kenny Perry could have won the Masters had he not bogeyed the final two holes in regulation.
• Phil Mickelson could have won the Masters and could have had one of the most famous final rounds in history after shooting 30 on the front nine. His double bogey on 12 cost him that shot.
  
• Mickelson could have won the U.S. Open in heroic style with his wife going through cancer.
  
• David Duval could have comeback from nowhere to win the U.S. Open. An unfortunate plugged lie that led to a triple bogey early in his final round really hurt his chances.
  
• Tom Watson, 59 years old, could have been the oldest player ever to win the British Open before a heartbreaking bogey on the final hole sent him to a playoff against Stewart Cink.
  
• Tiger Woods was in contention at both the Masters and U.S. Open. Poor ball striking at the Masters and terrible putting at the U.S. Open killed his chances.
  
• Tiger Woods could have won the PGA Championship for the 5th time before being stunned by Y.E. Yang. This was the first time Tiger ever lost a major with the lead going into the final round.

Looking back on it, the major winners very well could have been something like this.

Masters: Phil Mickelson
U.S. Open: David Duval
British Open: Tom Watson
PGA: Tiger Woods

Nothing Major

I recently received the book Nothing Major from Bob Cayne, who has been involved with golf for over six decades.

Bob has been the General Chairman of the World Championship of Women's golf, organized and promoted PGA Senior Tour events and the Women's Western Amateur Championship, co-hosted the weekly radio show "Talking Golf" and served as marketing consultant to several golf industry clients.

He has compiled a great deal of humorous and interesting stories about himself, his friends, and the many famous PGA and LPGA Professionals he met along the way. The book is a quick read and provides a lot of old school golf stories that were nice to learn.

Here are a few of the radio spots he used to promote his show.

"This is Chi Chi Rodriguez. Every Saturday morning I tune into my radio with "Talking Golf" with George Sweda and Bob Cayne. Then I go out and hit golf balls until the show is over.

This is Raymond Floyd. I used to think the worst thing I could hear was "You've missed the cut." Then I heard "Talking Golf" with George Sweda and Bob Cayne.

Order your copy today at Nothing Major.

News and Notes

• Tiger won the Australian Open for his first tournament victory ever down under. He also had another first when he flung his driver into the gallery. It would be interesting to see if the various tours publicly reported fines for throwing clubs and cursing, etc. Tiger would be in first place in another category.
  
• Michelle Wie finally got her first win which is great news for the LPGA Tour. This will give her a lot of confidence and momentum moving to the Tour Championship this week and for 2010.
  
• David Duval lost his card but should be fine anyway. He still has exemptions into the Masters and U.S. Open and will get hooked up through the connections he has made over the past decade.
  
• Rich Beem spent his time at the 19th hole after his final round at Disney sweating out making the top 125. According to Golf.com reports, he took down a couple beers and shots to relieve the stress. He made it though so he is good for 2010.
  
• Tom Watson, coming off his performance at the British Open at Turnberry, has been given a 5 year exemption to play in the tournament. We will see him in 2010 at St. Andrews.
• Rory Mcllroy has announced he will play the PGA tour in 2010. Look for him to have a huge season and possibly hit top 5 in the world.
  

Big winners of the week

Wie gets first LPGA victory in Mexico.

Tiger wins the gold jacket in Australia.


Wie photo - AP / Miguel Tovar
Woods photo - AP / Rob Griffith

In non related Tiger news......

Anthony Kim won a million bucks at the Kiwi Challenge in New Zealand by beating Sean O'Hair in a playoff. Hunter Mahan placed third and Camillo Villegas fourth in the tournament for players under 30.


The final round of the Fall series kicks off Thursday at Disney giving the players one final shot to secure their card for next year. David Duval is right on the bubble, and unfortunately shot 76 in the first round which jeopardizes his chances immensely. Definitely amazing that he was so close to winning the U.S. Open this year and still might not secure his card for next year.

Center of Attention

In shocking and surprising golf news, Tiger Woods is the center of attention at the JB Were Masters in Australia.

AP photos / Rob Griffith

So far, it's been a typical week for Tiger.

• 3 million dollar appearance fee
• attending gala dinners
• having TV network helicopters swarm overhead during his practice rounds
• having the entire tournament sold out
• having every hole he plays surrounded by spectators
• shooting an opening round 66 to be tied for the lead

This round goes to Mickelson

It wasn't the showdown that everyone was hoping for, but it was interesting to say the least. Both Mickelson and Tiger made some serious miscues in the final round of the HSBC World Golf Championship in Shanghai that they don't normally make.

Phil missed a few short putts, had a really bad 3-putt, was wayward with the driver for most of the the day, and even whiffed a flop shot. He did make a great par save on 16 and a nice birdie on 17 to seal the tournament. He finished with a final round 69 and ended up at 17 under.


Tiger missed several short putts, had a really bad 3-putt as well, yanked an iron into the water, hit a fairway bunker shot with a plugged lie about five feet, and chunked a flop shot into a bunker. He was four over through seven but was able to make five birdies from there to finish with an even par round of 72, good enough for 6th place at 12 under.

The nerves must have gotten to them all. In one five minute stretch, Els dumped his 5 wood into the middle of the lake on 18. On hole 16, Watney hit a very poor chip from the rough, Mickelson whiffed his flop, and Woods chunked his flop into a bunker. Amazing to see the top players in the world all hit poor shots like that in a row.

Regardless, it was still an exiting tournament to watch. Mickelson ends his 2009 season on a high note with his fourth win. Tiger will be taking his game to the Australian Masters starting on Thursday in Melbourne.

It's almost a certainty that these two will be going head to head a lot in 2010.

2009 HSBC World Golf Championship - Full photo galleries and recap

AP Photos / Andy Wong

Chinese checkers then golf

The HSBC in Shanghai kicks off Thursday with Tiger and Phil together in Asia for the first time.The field has 15 of the top 20 in the world rankings making this a great tournament, and also great for golf betting.

More photos from Shanghai - AP / Eugene Hoshiko

Drugs officially enter the golf world

When the news broke about Andre Agassi doing Meth during his career, I thought of posting about when drugs would become an issue in golf. Wouldn't you know it, we now officially have our first player suspended.

Doug Barron, who I've never heard of, has been suspended one year for violating the PGA Tour's substance abuse policy by testing positive for performance enhancing drugs. Under their policy, the tour does not disclose what substance the player abused which is stupid. Not sure why it should be a big secret.


Barron, a 30 year old journeyman who has played eight full seasons on tour, had this to say about the suspension. "I would like to apologize for any negative perception of the tour of its players resulting from my suspension. I want my fellow tour members and the fans to know that I did not intend to gain an unfair competitive advantage or enhance my performance while on tour."

Not quite sure what other reasons there would be to take performance enhancers and his statement sound very similar to other athletes who have been caught such as:

Barry Bonds

Sean Merriman

Marion Jones

Floyd Landis


It will be very interesting to see if the Tour makes the drug policy even stricter with more testing now that one person has been caught. Gary Player did call it a few years ago when he said some players were using.