OT:WHAT A JOKE, TIGER :Tiger Woods Conterversey

Templehorn · Post by **Templehorn** » Wed Sep 25, 2002 4:47 pm

What a joke, Tiger
 
 September 25, 2002
 
 BY JAY MARIOTTI SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 A fine American, that Tiger Woods. He lives in a land where he can build a fortune and carry out his grandest dreams, but when it´s time to play for his country in the Ryder Cup, he becomes a greedmonster who favors green over red, white and blue.
 
 The other day, someone asked Woods if he´d prefer a patriotic team victory over Europe or the $1 million first prize in the American Express Championship. It should have been a gimme-putt answer for a man who will collect $70 million this year in endorsements, has pocketed more than $31 million in PGA Tour earnings and knows full well the economic and emotional struggles of his nation. Always prioritize God, flag and apple pie on the eve of an international event, right? Stunningly, Woods got the verbal yips at the absolute wrong time and chose the Credit Card Open.
 
 Why? "I can think of a million reasons,´´ he said, making things much worse.
 
 Tuesday, he tried to backtrack from his comments, claiming to have been kidding. "I was trying to be funny, and obviously, things were taken way out of context,´´ he said in England, where the tabloids have been pummeling him. But his furious spin attempt is falling on deaf ears. He was the one who brought up the Benjamins, and now, he´ll have to live with the repercussions--particularly if he and his team lose this weekend. An athlete of his magnitude should know better than to project a money-first attitude, but Tiger seems to have shown his true stripes.
 
 "That was bad for him to say,´´ teammate Mark Calcavecchia said, "because $1 million to him is like $10 to everyone else.´´
 
 It also was bad to say because it reflects the mindset of the U.S. team heading into the softer, gentler yet still highly charged competition. We have suspected for years that the European players take the Ryder Cup far more seriously than our side of 12 money-driven corporations, and when Woods´ comments were promptly defended by many of his teammates, the message was clear: American fans and media are placing more importance on this year´s event than the American golfers. Between the debacle of the NBA players at the World Basketball Championship and the whiny shrugs of the golfers, does anyone care about national honor and pride anymore?
 
 "Golf is an individual sport,´´ Phil Mickelson said. "We´ve played it as individuals our entire life. To think of it as a team sport once every other year is a bit unrealistic. I understand what he´s saying.´´
 
 The sentiments look arrogant and limp compared to the deep passion of the Euros, who still ache from their 1999 collapse at Brookline, the boisterous behavior of the New England galleries and the bitter post-match crossfire between the teams. If the Americans are treating this almost like an exhibition--David Duval´s very description of the event a few years back--the hosts are treating it with the proper pomp and focus. "It seems we rate this a bit higher than some of the Americans do,´´ Thomas Bjorn said. "It´s very important to us. We want to win this trophy. This is where we want to be. This is where golf careers are made.´´
 
 "The biggest high I´ve ever felt was winning in ´97,´´ Darren Clarke said. "I´d like to experience it again.´´
 
 When told of Woods´ remarks, European captain Sam Torrance said, "I think we´d probably all chip in and pay $1 million to win this week.´´
 
 It´s hard to believe the nausea quotient could be as big as three years ago, when Duval and Woods spent the PGA Championship at Medinah in a greedy debate over how to divide Ryder Cup revenues. But it sounds as if The Belfry is the last place some of these Americans want to be. We expect Woods, as the pre-eminent sportsman in the world, to be a tremendous leader in international competition. Instead, he has spent recent days complaining about the unique nature of the Ryder Cup, which requires participants to attend black-tie dinners and mingle with snobs. "I don´t enjoy the lead-up because we´re taken out of our routine,´´ he said. "I´m used to working out a lot, and I´m not able to do that. We have to go to functions and don´t get home until 11 o´clock or midnight.´´
 
 Silly us for not understanding the torturous adversity of golfers. Is it possible the Americans are setting themselves up for failure and cushioning a forthcoming fall? Dramatic as their comeback win was in ´99, their last Ryder Cup visit to Europe was embarrassing. They were flogged in the Spanish rain at Valderrama, with Woods finishing 1-3-1 and losing in singles to former factory worker Constantino Rocca. In 10 Ryder Cup matches, he is 3-6-1 and has won only 3-1/2 points. You´d like Woods to approach the problem as he does every other challenge: stare it down, conquer it, smile while posing with the trophy. Instead, he uncharacteristically sounds like a wimpy loser who would prefer to downplay the competition than confront it.
 
 For years, I´ve defended golfers in the ongoing argument of whether they are athletes. But their attitude toward Ryder Cup pressure doesn´t help my cause. "In these matches, you´ve got a fear of losing rather than a nervousness about trying to win a U.S. Open or the Masters,´´ Davis Love said. "You don´t want to lose a match. You don´t want to lose a hole. You don´t want to be on a losing team.´´
 
 So some respond to the pressure by not caring? Yikes. Everyone in golf agrees the hiss-and-vinegar mood of ´99 needed to change. A different world won´t tolerate another rowdy, controversial ending like the scene at Brookline.
 
 Perspective is much clearer after Sept. 11. The European fans still will cheer the Americans´ lousy shots, but the Brookline-like taunting--Colin Montgomerie was emotionally wounded for life--should be kept to a minimum. "The edge has been taken off the tournament a little bit, and it´s going to be a good thing for the Ryder Cup,´´ Woods said. "Granted, this is a competition between Europe and the United States, but this is supposed to be a celebration of golf. It´s not life and death, and that is what a lot of the public, as well as the press, make it out to be. We´re supposed to have fun, enjoy competing against the person in your group, shake hands and go have a beer. We all understand the matches were going too far over the edge. The atmosphere should be competitive in the context of a gentlemanly sport.´´
 
 It would have been a beautiful speech. But then, Tiger gave us one million reasons to doubt his sincerity. As a comedian, he´s a wonderful golfer.