Tiger Woods and the nattering nabobs
In the seemingly never ending saga of Tiger Woods, the past week essentially hasn’t been any different from the previous weeks once the bimbos stopped coming out of the woodwork to be counted on the “me too” list.
The biggest news, which now seems to have some fact behind it, is Woods and family are back from a week of rehabilitation and the world’s number one player has been seen jogging and hitting balls on the back of the range at Isleworth where he lives in suburban Orlando. This of course has set off a whole new round of speculation about when he will return to the PGA Tour, maybe this month to prepare for the Masters with very few observers stepping up to raise the question, “if he returns.”
Lost in the all the “nattering nabobs” (always wanted to use a Spiro Agnew quote) noise is what the reception will be when/if Woods does show himself in public. His broadcast apology on February 19 certainly does not qualify as showing himself in public. According to ABC News/ESPN Poll released today more than 50% are ready to forgive him and his apology was accepted as sincere so maybe it is safe to venture out again.
When/if he rejoins the Tour to preserve his privacy he probably won’t sign autographs, swap war stories with the guys in the locker room or give interviews to the media…but then he never did that in the past either.
The other tidbit this week is Gatorade joins Accenture, AT&T, Gillette and Tag Heur in firing Woods as a spokesman. Finally, and presumably not related, the Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa which was the site where Woods fessed up two weeks ago has filed for bankruptcy.
New Product: Srixon Z-Star Tour Yellow
Here’s a trivia question – who was the first player to win on the PGA Tour using a golf ball that was not white?
Answer: Wayne Levi won the 1982 Hawaiian Open with an optic orange ball.
This of course was the high water mark for non-white balls during their brief period of acceptance unless you count an even briefer resurgence a few years ago as a fashion statement to be coordinated with a female golfer’s top or shoes. Today non-white balls are still offered by many manufacturers and used by a small minority of players, mostly ladies; with the singular exception of LPGA Tour star Paula Creamer’s pink golf balls which are both a fashion accessory and support for her brand image. MORE…
