When you come to think of it that is the secret of most of the great holes all over the world. They all have some kind of a twist. C.B. MACDONALD
Gregg Doyel says Tiger plays dirty and the latest comments from China will be a mistake.
All because Chamblee pointed out -- in a creative way -- that Tiger was, shall we say, cavalier with the rules during the 2013 season.
But facts are facts, and the facts would be Chamblee's defense in a slander lawsuit, should Woods file one, which he won't. Because he has no case -- and if he doesn't know it, Steinberg does. So in lieu of a legal remedy that doesn't exist, they're trying to cut off Chamblee's biggest source of income. Why? Because they can.
Now we'll see what Golf Channel does. The ball truly is in their court. We'll see if the people who run that network are as scared of Tiger Woods as Tiger Woods hopes they are.
Martin Kaufmann answers that question and says Tiger needs Golf Channel more than Golf Channel needs him. I'm not sure I buy that, but here's his case:
Here’s the reality: Brandel Chamblee is more valuable to Golf Channel than Tiger Woods. Yes, I realize that sounds crazy at first glance. I follow the TV ratings. I know that Woods can double the viewership when he’s in contention.
But Woods has no leverage in this instance. Golf Channel and its parent, NBC Sports Group, have locked up PGA Tour rights through 2021. If Tiger Woods wants to play on the PGA Tour, he’s going to have to appear on Golf Channel and NBC. And the Tour’s media rules mandate that he make appearances in the media center before and during events.
Just like last week, the Big Break NFL beat out the start of the PGA Tour season where crucial FedExCup points are on the line until they fall victim of next summer's reset.
For the week of October 14-20, the Not Justin Timberlake in Las Vegas was beaten in the battle of the .1's, but at least the Vegas stop crossed the 200,000 mark in viewers, a barrier the PGA Tour season-opening Frys.com Open was unable to break.
Ed Sherman has a roundup of the Brandel-Tiger-cavalier-with-the-rules situation and wonders if this could mean a Tiger boycott of Golf Channel interviews in lieu of the hoped-for trial.
This, even though the original offense appeared on golf.com, where they still have not acknowledged Mark Steinberg's rebuttal to the Chamblee column suggesting possible legal action.
Woods, though, will be looking to get even, and that could put the Golf Channel in the line of fire. There’s not much he can do to get back at Golf.com. The magazine and site weren’t getting any exclusive interviews anyway.
Woods, though, does appear regularly on interviews during tournaments with the Golf Channel. Chamblee’s main work is with the Golf Channel.
I wouldn’t rule out the possibility that Woods might pull an interview boycott with the Golf Channel–at least at the events where Chamblee is on site as an analyst, which are quite a few. It would be a way for the Woods camp to make Chamblee feel the heat.
The World Challenge at Sherwood should provide an opportunity to find out, as NBC/Golf Channel is the tournament's longtime partner. Would he not do an interview Thursday and Friday, and then sit in the NBC booth as he traditionally does on the weekend?
Or perhaps this will be an opportunity for Tiger Marching And Chowder Society Co-Chairs Kelly Tilghman and Notah Begay to intervene?
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
