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Tom Watson tees off on Tiger Woods: 'He needs to show some humility to the public'

Jan 29, 2010, 10:00 AM EDT

259 Comments

Opinions on Tiger Woods come cheaply these days; who doesn’t have a take on this mess? His peers on the PGA Tour have been less chatty, however; and those who have ventured a few syllables have shown general solidarity. But no one figured on the venerable Tom Watson, unlikely second-place finisher at the 2009 British Open despite being 59; which is older than many trees. When asked when he thought Tiger would return to golf, Watson could have taken a mulligan. Instead, he took a couple of swipes at the world’s favorite tabloid sensation, admonishing Woods for a variety of misbehaviors. And suddenly a coma-inducing interview turned interesting.
Video following the jump.


Watson talked with NBC affiliate KSHB-TV from his home in Kansas City, and toward the end of the interview was asked when he thought Tiger would return to the links.

“He will be back at some point this year. But it’s really up to Tiger to get his personal life in order, and his golf is really secondary. It’s bad for our game. It’s something he needs to get control of and a handle on and make some amends and show some humility to the public when he comes back.

“His swearing and his club throwing, that should end. That’s not part of what we want to project as far as the professional golf tour is concerned.”

Here’s a link to the rather lengthy video interview with Watson. Scroll to the 18:50 mark for the Tiger comments.

Here’s a shorter version.
Of course its debatable that Tiger’s actions — both on and off the course — have been “bad for golf.” I have a feeling that, if and when he comes back, attendance and television ratings will go through the roof. Watson should have said “bad for golf’s image,” I suppose. Hey, when you’re nearly 60, self censorship isn’t that important. Agree with him or not, it’s refreshing to hear someone say what he’s really thinking.
***
Tom Watson Chides Tiger For Scandal, Swearing [SportsbyBrooks]
Tom Watson expects better from Tiger [The Golf Channel]

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259 Comments (Feed for Comments)
  1. RDW - Jan 30, 2010 at 11:44 PM

    Tiger’s personal life has no impact on how the game of golf is viewed… golf is golf.
    The people who are talking about how Tiger’s off the course affairs have damaged the image of golf are totally wrong…Tiger Woods is not “golf” and “golf” isn’t Tiger Woods…he’s just a player…though he may be the worlds #1 player…he still is just a player. Long after he leaves the game…”golf” will still be “golf”, just like it was “golf” before Tiger came along.
    As far as Tiger making a public appearance and giving a statement, I could care less. All I want to see is Tiger back on the course playing again.
    The history of golf, “a gentleman sport”…who created that BS saying. What made it a “gentleman sport”? Who verified that every player was a “gentleman”?
    Times have changed and liked every thing else in the world change has come to the PGA…and no, this change isn’t due to Tiger Woods alone, because there are many players on the PGA who have issues with their temper, cursing and slamming clubs…Tigers not the only one.
    As far as Tom Watson…well, he has a right to say what he feels…and he said it…like it or not.

  2. BIll - Jan 31, 2010 at 12:22 AM

    I hope Cheetah goes away and never comes back. He’s a loser now and aways has been. I’ve never seen a poorer winner or loser. When my son recently played his way into a playoff of a golf tournament I said to him before heading to the tee of the playoff hole, “I’m proud of you, but whatever happens, win or lose, don’t act like Tiger Woods.” He knew what I meant and acted like a gentleman in defeat. I was proud of him and know he hasn’t picked up all the bad habits of his former idol.

  3. Mikey D - Jan 31, 2010 at 4:12 AM

    I need a smoke after reading all of this…
    The person I feel sorry for is Tigers Mom…
    Tiger you have made your Mom very proud…
    I need a frickin ashtray….these comments
    are getting to me….
    ()__))_______________))~~~~~ Good God….

  4. Mikey Ds imaginary friend... - Jan 31, 2010 at 4:19 AM

    Heres your frickin ashtray….
    000000000000000
    00 00
    000 000
    0000 0000
    00000 00000
    000000 000000
    000000000000000
    Now leave me alone……

  5. Bob Devine - Jan 31, 2010 at 4:20 AM

    Hey there Lee. Have you ever heard that old saying ” It is better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt”

  6. Bob Devine - Jan 31, 2010 at 4:27 AM

    Hey there Lee. Have you ever heard that old saying ” It is better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt”

  7. Peteyboy - Jan 31, 2010 at 7:08 AM

    First of all, when Woods throws his clubs and curses out loud he definitely does not look like the “greatest golfer of all time”. That’s the stuff amateurs do on the course. He’s immature. His infidelities prove that. And secondly to all you Afro-Americans who are commenting about Tiger being the greatest in a white man’s game and receiving racial bias because of it. Tiger isn’t even black, he’s Cablinasian! Remember? He doesn’t even want to be black! Don’t blame his persecution on Whitey!

  8. R24 - Jan 31, 2010 at 9:20 AM

    SCREW TOM WATSON, MR.CHOKE! I DON’T THINK HE TRULY HAS THE RIGHT TO TELL TIGER WHAT HE NEEDS TO DO BEFORE HE ENTERS BACK INTO THE REALM OF GOLF, BESIDES HE AND EVERYONE OF THE PGA MEMBERS SHOULD BE MORE CONSIDERING BECAUSE THEY ALL KNOW WHAT TEMPTATIONS ARE OUT THERE DURING THE TOURNAMENTS, ESPECIALLY IF YOU’RE TOP PLAYER OF THE TOUR!WATSON HAS ONCE BEEN RANKED NUM.1, AND I DO BELIEVE HE MAY HAVE DONE SOME CHEATING IN HIS DAY. THE THING IS, THE MEDIA WASN’T THERE FOR GOLF, SO WHO WOULD HAVE KNOWN, SO SINCE THE ENTRANCE OF TIGER, WHO WE ALL KNOW WITHOUT HIM THE PGA WILL SUFFER! CHECK THE RATINGS, LOSE SPONSORS AND SO FORTH. WITH THAT I THINK TOM WATSON SHOULD NOT ONLY THANK TIGER! HE SHOULD SO MORE RESPECT, BECAUSE SINCE TIGER EXISTENCE THE PAY IS A LOT GREATER FOR ANY PLAYER WHO MAKES THE CUT IN A TOURNAMENT, I CAN BET U THAT THE CHECK WATSON RECIEVED AS RUNNER-UP FOR THE BRITISH OPEN LAST YEAR IS FOR MORE GREATER THAN ANY CHECK HE HAS CASH AS CHAMPION DURING HIS HAY-DAY ON THE TOUR!

  9. The Truth - Jan 31, 2010 at 11:13 AM

    Watson “only a senior golfer with little accomplishment”????? Lee where have you been the last 30 years….that statement only shows that you are among the new generation of golf fan or as pure golf fans call you Tiger Lover…..Woods is like every other modern day super star that we have made millions of dollars and he still thinks he”s above the law and we still owe him more….Woods has proved once again he is a clown and a punk….if ur gonna blog about the game of golf go to your local book store and read up on old Tom Watson and his having accomplished nothing1

  10. Slim - Jan 31, 2010 at 11:17 AM

    If a person has an extramarital affair, I would call it breach of promise to his or her spouse. If you have a lot of them, I would think you don’t care about anything but your “johnson”, period.
    Tigre is the best “golfer” on the tour today, and maybe the best ever, but I have never been able to realy like the guy. I don’t think he shows alot of class. If you want a model of class, my pick would be Payne Stewart, but that is just my opinion.

  11. Capt James S. Paulk usmc-ret - Jan 31, 2010 at 11:18 AM

    I am no fan of woods. I have heard him use God’s name in vain over two dozen times, the f-word and sh–. He’s thrown clubs and acted like a spoiled brat. yet and still he’s treaded as a “darling” by the media as he can do no wrong.He’s good but classless. He can cuss God but if someone yelled the n-word they would shut the tour down. We must be P.C but morals and intregrity don’t count anymore. This is my opinion and I sticking with it.

  12. Mimi - Jan 31, 2010 at 11:26 AM

    great come back.

  13. lights out - Jan 31, 2010 at 1:24 PM

    ‘watson pointing fingers at tiger, how clean is his past?

  14. Steve S. - Jan 31, 2010 at 2:50 PM

    Regarding Mr. Watson’s comments on cussing and throwing clubs. I admit this is sort of childish and immature. Many people, pro or not have done this. Frustration first class! Not that I sign off on that, I don’t. But let’s look into what I think is behind his immaturity.
    Tiger as we all know by now has a problem The extent of it is still on the “QT”, so I won’t say anymore on his “rehab” right now.
    My point is as I stated much earlier, if you watched him before this all unraveled, he seemed uneasy, hard on himself, far from having fun on his last few tournaments..as if he was in his own little world.
    Well, then came the news that we all heard and over talked this issue way too much. His actions that he was involved with obviously created the type of personality that was shown on the course before all this came crashing down on him!
    We all know fairly well his schedule, while remaining married, being with Elin, he somehow found time while away to maintain all these social calls, text messaging, etc in addition to maintaining his marriage and his career, a pro golfer! How many people could keep up this kind of schedule so long?
    And tell me this wouldn’t change your personality in any way? Please, don’t bother to ask. You know the result as well as I.
    Throwing clubs, cussing, tightening up on almost every hole, walking around by himself, I saw this all on camera. He just wasn’t himself. Few smiles, mainly after a decent game or hole, which of late didn’t come often.
    Tiger simply was a tired, exhausted,and stressed out man! Cussing and tossing golf clubs was only a small part of it!

  15. ChillyPhil - Jan 31, 2010 at 3:37 PM

    Well, stop watching already. Why tell the world, just do it! As for back in the day, its well known that reporters back then had better one on one personal relationships with the star athletes they were reporting on and wouldn’t report all they found in order to remain on the stars good list and get interviews. Most people never even knew Arnie & Jack smoked a whole lot while on the course. That’s because the reporters back then wouldn’t risk being blacklisted by printing such a thing. In today’s media, all is fair game and on the table.

  16. ChillyPhil - Jan 31, 2010 at 3:50 PM

    You are such an obvious hypocrite that calling you out would be a waste of time and energy. Arnie, Tom, Gary, & Jack aren’t holier-than-thou, and damn sure aren’t perfect either. Each has skeletons his closet, but thanks to the structure of media/star relations during those eras, nothing negative was reported to the masses as would be the case today. Placing Tiger in John Daly’s category is just being ridiculous at best. Tiger has more majors than anyone but Jack at this point and easily will best even him eventually. Therefore, he is clearly BETTER THAN ALL THE ABOVE! A person’s athletic achievements are history and speak for themselves and is to be dissected totally separate from their personal endeavors. So how is it you can say that what Tiger has already done- which earned him Athlete of the Decade by the way- is now less significant because of Tiger’s cheating ways. If that’s the case Michael Jordan, Babe Ruth, Wayne Gretzky, etc would be considered less than they really were too.

  17. ChillyPhil - Jan 31, 2010 at 4:14 PM

    I don’t think this is a color issue either, but then again I didn’t start the discussion on color. That being said, hold on just a damn minute. Golf was until the sixties and early seventy’s a bastion of white’s only America- as was society as a whole. This is established fact and history and not up for discussion. Even well into the ninety’s a LOT of country club’s still didn’t have ANY members of color and MOST didn’t have any females period! Remember Augusta National anyone? So please lets not act like golf itself is holier-than-thou because it isn’t. As for Tiger’s input and actions, well let’s see the game has enjoyed a nearly fourfold increase in its purse and popularity not just here but around the world. There are more people of color throughout the world than Caucasians you know and that is where all the real growth and opportunity will come from. All Tiger has done is make golf mainstream a la football, basketball, baseball, and not just for older white males. If he were to hang up his clubs today, I BET YOU that the total purse of golf tournaments would go DOWN and the t.v. ratings would stay far lower too. Therefore, it’s safe to say that Tiger has done a lot more for the sport than anyone this side of Arnie in that regard too. While he may not be perfect, and let he who is step forward, he certainly hasn’t hurt the game in any way as its better off now than it ever was. If anything is a threat to golf’s viability its this recession and economy that we’ve inherited from the Republicans and will have to soldier through the next year to 1 1/2years to get through. That’s the REAL THREAT to golf- and every thing else!

  18. ksharpe21 - Jan 31, 2010 at 6:55 PM

    Any true fan of golf, despite who is playing enjoys the sport. I heard no one complaining when the payoffs grew astonomically because of the “Woods Syndrome.” I have seen many older golfers, throw their clubs in the air and stomp or dig their clubs in the ground after a bad shot. In being older, I am quite sure golfers did more than they do today. Golfers of the past did a lot of smoking and drinking on the course. They did not have the voices of television to deal with and microphones surrounding the whole golf course. Sounds to me as if you have other issues…

  19. ac onjust befair - Jan 31, 2010 at 7:15 PM

    DITTO! DITTO! DITTO! I think some are just anger they are not still makin BIG money off of him. Where it not for the GRACE of GOD that could be anyone of them. It just goes to show he is only human. I pray he and his wife work thing out and stay together.
    THIS TOO SHALL PASS.

  20. JOJO - Jan 31, 2010 at 7:31 PM

    Bout time someone stood up to Tiger about anything! He is an abusing bully, standing in the line of sight during putting set ups, get yourr ass out of the way toughguy. Not asking the crowd to settle down after great putt or play so next up can have same opp for success. Finally someone standng up to the cussing and ranting spoiled brat who has made a living intimidating his opponents with an angry demeanor that most are AFRAIDDDDD of speaking out against! Enough already! The playing field is now level, the phony veneer broken, and oh, how come we dont expect THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME, to break the majors record by 6 or 8 wins and not by just one, the way JN broke the old record and left all others a 100 miles in His rear view mirror, I propose no more passes for this baby cheater and we start busting his much used balls!!!!!!

  21. jm - Jan 31, 2010 at 8:21 PM

    Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. Tom Watson should refrain from commenting on the Tiger issue given that he is not even a good role model himself. Watson struggled with alcoholism during is pro career, which lead to his first wife divorcing him. Watson should think about his past experiences and the fact that he did not want his personal troubles being discussed publicly – maybe he should give Tiger some privacy and respect

  22. Phillip Smith - Jan 31, 2010 at 9:02 PM

    Tiger has been the best golf has ever seen for a number of years. I don’t ever remeber jack or Tom winning 50% of all the turnments they enetred. They were OK, but to compare them is like comparing Muhammed Ali to the great white hope inventions of the 70′s.
    Mind your own buisnes about people’s personal life. That’s enough for anyone to concentrate on.
    If we ar going to talk garbage, I wonder how many holes Tom has stuck his 4 iron in over the years.

  23. Phillip Smith - Jan 31, 2010 at 9:16 PM

    As I think about it, maybe I was premature in critisixing Tom. He didn’t really mean to trash talk Tiger in order to slavage the “history” of the white mans game. It just spilled out of him cuase he was drunk and diddling someone.

  24. Dan T. - Jan 31, 2010 at 10:20 PM

    Nice to see you have such high morales!
    There is a great difference between one infidelity and over a dozen.
    Maybe that doesn’t matter much in your world.
    As far as Tom Watson not having acheived anything, I think your knowledge of golf is as empty as your standards.

  25. James Bryant - Jan 31, 2010 at 11:02 PM

    Tiger,Tiger, burning bright
    Hits a golf ball out of sight
    Has a lovely wife at home
    Goes and leaves her all alone
    Now he’s in a major fight
    Cos of what he does at night
    Like the ladies so they say,
    Loves to look around and play
    Have no pity for the Brat
    Arrogance is where he’s at
    I just hope he’s done with golf
    To me he’s just a surly oaf.

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