All right, so Tiger Woods isn’t playing the best golf of his life right now. He had one heck of a year in 2010 and is struggling to find his rhythm in 2011. But that’s all right, he is making cuts and he is playing in some pretty high-profile events as he gears up for the Masters this spring. Like the one he played in last week, an event that he loves to play in (and one that he loves to win), the Omega Dubai Desert Classic.
The event takes place in – you guessed it – Dubai, home of what was going to be Tiger’s first golf course. That has since fallen by the wayside and the project has basically been dropped. Granted, Tiger managed to walk away with some $55 million to quit the project, but that’s the topic of another blog post.
They only had a few holes done, and thanks to a weak economy the project just went sour.
Tiger didn’t play all that bad, and found himself in a tie for 4th place going into the final round. Everything was fine, and when he came to the 12th green… Tiger spit. While lining up his putt, he spit. Oh my good, no. Tiger Woods spit on the golf course?
I know; it’s not a big deal. Guys spit all the time. Especially on the golf course. Guys will chew tobacco, smoke cigars, and chug beer… so why is this such a big deal? But Tiger apparently plays by a different set of rules. He was caught (after the fact mind you) and is now being fined for his actions.
When it happened, Ewen Murray had this to say, “Disgusting, what he has just done there… there are some parts of him that are just arrogant and petulant. Somebody now has to come behind him and maybe putt over his spit. It does not get much lower than that.”
Really? You are going to critique Tiger for spitting and have the audacity to call it “disgusting”? Get over it guy. This is NOT that big of a deal.
Thanks to my good friend Kristie Williams, she pointed out that this is sort of in the official PGA rules book. But know that this is not illegal under the rules of golf, just frowned upon.
“The tour’s code of conduct states that when a player becomes a member he “voluntarily submits himself to standards of behavior and ethical conduct beyond those required of ordinary golfers and members of the public.”
So while Tiger is out there trying to make birdies – he fired a final round 75 to finish in the middle of the pack – the announcers and the European Tour are worrying about his “bad behavior on the golf course”.
This is NOT a big deal, and I think this is more a case of throwing Tiger under the bus. He isn’t winning tournaments, hasn’t won one in over a year, and now they are trying to find excuses for him to be in the news. Just let the man play golf, and leave him alone for a change. He won’t get better if you keep shining a negative light in his face.
Tiger Woods later apologized on his Twitter account. (Even though HE is not the one running that account.) If you have not yet seen it, the video is below and will give you a better idea about what he did. And once you see it, I welcome your thoughts. He spit. That’s it. Get over it.
The incident by itself isn’t a big deal (and probably has only become such because the European tour takes things like this a little more seriously, State-side tournament would be no big deal), but Woods’s ongoing bad attitude is. What I see here is a guy who wants to regain some of his reputation in the public eye, but he’s doing himself no favors in how he carries himself. I can’t believe a 35 year old guy hasn’t figured out that the key to getting people to like you again after you screw up big time is to carry yourself in as much humility as a human being can possibly muster. Woods hasn’t done that yet, and by the looks of things, probably never will. I don’t care how many tournaments you’ve won, your attitude transcends your on-field or in this case, on-course performance.
I agree with Steve. Although the incident is minor, Tiger used to be the epitome of class and respectability. We want to see this Tiger back. We actually want him to succeed and most of us are rooting for him. But if he continues doing stupid small stuff and doesn’t reign in his attitude, we will eventually not care what he does. And that will be sad.
Thanks for you comments. But I have to disagree with both of you on this one. Are you really going to judge Tiger for spitting on the golf course? I mean, have you ever played golf before? I am sure you have. If not, you understand that golf courses are outside. Now, this particular golf course was in Dubai… the desert. It’s hot. They wear pants. He’s a man. He spit. BIG deal!
The only reason Tiger apologized for this was because he had to. He will continue to spit, but will be cautious as to where he spits. This is such a small issue I am not even sure why it was news. Was it because Tiger is not winning? I’m not sure, but this is an outrage if you ask me.
Tiger will eventually be judged for one thing… the number of wins he had. No one will consider him the best golfer of all time until he breaks ALL of Jack’s records. He’s close to all of them and is only 35 years old. I can’t wait to see this man find his swing again (he’s close), learn how to putt (he needs to go back to the old Scotty Cameron) and starts winning tournaments again. As long as he wins, I couldn’t care less what he does. On or off the course. (What he does off the course is none of my business.)
I really appreciate your comments guys. Thanks for reading and I would love to see more from you both! No hard feelings here. I won’t spit at you or anything!