Woods Skips Christening, U.S. Media Skips The Story

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I missed this story last week while traveling but I'm not sure what excuse the golf press has for not reporting it. Here it is, first reported (in English) by Marcus Oscarsson in the Times:

The golfer Tiger Woods has missed the baptism in Sweden of his three-month-old daughter, Sam, according to Swedish media reports.

Woods is married to the Swedish model Elin Nordegren, whose family turned out in force for the christening ceremony in Stockholm yesterday. But one source close to the family said: "“Everybody was very surprised over the fact that Tiger did not show up.”

This Daily Express story explored things a bit more:

While the traditional christening was important to Elin and her family, insiders said Woods’s Buddhist beliefs meant the ceremony was less of a priority.

However, photos of Woods, 31, posing with his arms around Desperate Housewives star Teri Hatcher at the fund-raiser 6,000 miles away merely fuelled gossip. One columnist wrote: “Hey, hasn’t the guy heard of a daily planner?

“Couldn’t he and Elin, have picked a free day – no charity events, no golf, no shooting a dozen TV ads – then had their daughter baptised?”

Elin’s Swedish relatives were reportedly “very surprised” her husband was not there.

After flying into Stockholm on a private jet, Elin, 27, and baby Sam Alexis Woods were picked up by the model’s twin sister Josefin and the baby was christened in a specially decorated gymnasium. Meanwhile, last Saturday’s Tiger Woods Block Party in California raised £500,000 for a school learning programme.

A friend said Woods was “in great spirits”, adding: “He was the life and soul of the party. We had no idea his baby was being christened on the same weekend.”

Allan Maki in the Globe and Mail was the only writer to question Tiger's decision:

But hey, hasn’t the guy heard of a daily planner? Couldn’t he and his wife, Swedish model Elin Nordegren, have picked a free day – no charity events, no golf, no shooting a dozen new TV ads – then had their three-month-old daughter baptized?

Now, I could care less what Tiger does or does not do with his spare time. And frankly, I can't say I blame him for skipping a baptism in a gymnasium halfway around the globe.

But considering that way too many questions asked of Tiger this year in press conferences were schmaltzy, lame and mindless softballs revolving around the birth of his daughter, resulting in countless "fatherhood will make him a more complete man" columns, shouldn't some of the scribblers who peddled that at least report this?

Stevie The "Sportsman" Makes Massive Donation

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You know when a caddie is making $1 million donations and establishing his own foundation, that his loop is just really, really good. Especially since the looper in question has about as much personality as...oh how dare I? He loves children:

Williams announced the donation to hospital staff, patients and their families during a holiday in New Zealand.

"My wife Kirsty and I decided we wanted the foundation to support another area that was in real need, where we could make a big difference," Williams said.

"We talked to the Starship Foundation and were immediately sold on the Starship cancer ward.
This left me confused:
Williams has been caddie to Woods, the world golf No.1, since 1999, and is one of the highest-earning New Zealand sportsmen.

Sportsmen? Did he win the World Camera Tossing contest? When did caddying become a sport? 

He is also a New Zealand speedway motor racing champion.

Oh, sorry. 

Report: Game Would Not Be Where It Is Without Tiger

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This one reeks of a managing editor in features telling a sports editor that he had this great idea over the weekend: tell our readers what golf would have been like without Tiger Woods coming along. Bet there was lots of head nodding and back massaging going around the editors room down in central Florida over this one.

 Jeremy Fowler of the Orlando Sentinel was given the uneviable task of researching this unresearchable story.

Here's a real newsflash:

Considering how Woods has altered the game, there's reason to believe his absence would have stunted the sport's growth.

"Would the game be as exciting? Probably not," said David Leadbetter, the famous golf coach of players such as Nick Faldo, Ernie Els and Nick Price. "He makes golf interesting everywhere, from the prize money to TV to the international aspect of it. You can go anywhere in the world, and in all probability, they've heard of Tiger Woods. The game hasn't always had that, and I don't know if it would without him."

 

Overheard In Palm Beach...

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Totally unsubstantiated, entirely unconfirmed and coming from disreputable sources (golf business people!), a whopping three people have told me (unsolicited) over the last few days that Tiger Woods is eyeing property on Bridge Road, the main route from I-95 into his future home in bucolic Hobe Sound. 

My lousy sources weren't sure if this was a site for his own private course or a private club, ala Greg Norman's nearby Medalist or Pete Dye's new Dye Preserve.

I had the privilege of driving Bridge Road today and I can tell you the elevation change must be at least 3 feet in spots. Though I'm pretty sure I spotted some properties on the south side that were not swamps filled with aligators.

If I were Tiger, I would buy one of the south side ranches that is for sale, keep the discreet dirt road entry, and build a fun course for myself and friends. Oh and have someone good design it.

Tiger Already Easing Sam Into The Family Design Business

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Jeese, even Jackie didn't get started this young.

From today' press conference to plug the Target World Challenge:

Q.  A question for both of your tournaments.  We had news last week about '09.  I wondered if you're getting closer to maybe anchoring your tournament to Congressional.  The other thought is, with two golf tournaments to play, and a golf course design business developing, how are you going to juggle all those things with time?

TIGER WOODS:  Well, as far as Congressional, we're still working on that.  We'll have a better idea for you probably towards the end of the year and early next year, what we're going to do.

As far as the two tournaments, then juggling the golf course design business, I think the golf course design part of it is something I'm really looking forward to, I'm really excited about.  It's been a lot of fun and eye‑opening to be involved in that.  Something I've always wanted to do.

As far as the time commitments, that's something that I've been trying to work.  Obviously some things are going to have to probably go away to make time for that.  My most important thing right now is my family, being around Sam as much as I possibly can.  The golf course design stuff, the reason why I like it so much, is I can hop in, hop back, still be at home.  A lot of stuff that we do, I can actually take her to these sites, walk the golf course with me, walk properties.  I think that's been a lot of fun for all of us.

Poor thing, having to stomp through the Dubai desert before her first birthday! 

Tiger Not Playing An Official Event Until The Buick?

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Thomas Bonk is usually right about Tiger's playing intentions, and he noted this in today's LA Times golf column:
And one final note on Woods: Don't expect him to play his first PGA Tour event of 2008 until the Buick Invitational, Jan. 24-27, meaning that he'll probably skip the Mercedes Championships at Kapalua for the third consecutive year.

"Maybe now he'll start leaving decent tips."

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Gary Van Sickle hands out FedEx Cup awards, including this one for Tiger:

Jed Clampett Award: The richest man in golf is Woods. He won seven times in 16 appearances and cleared $10 million for the year. At the Tour Championship, he snagged $1.26 million for the tournament victory and the famously deferred $10 million for capturing the FedEx Cup title. Maybe now he'll start leaving decent tips.

Meanwhile Doug Ferguson lauds the FedEx Cup's success and examines the problems with various "tweaks" to the Cup, including one that I initially thought was an essential fix. Now I'm not so sure the field sizes should change if the points volatility is improved, as expected.

Furyk offered the most comical assessment by noting that 125 players keep their cards, but 144 players start the playoffs. But the season began with 225 exempt players, so actually only 64 percent made the playoffs.

The biggest problem with this solution is that short fields make for dull tournaments and a lousy experience for the fans. Consider the 70-man field at Cog Hill, where an entire day of golf was over in six hours. There has to be consideration given to the tournament and its fan base. Plus, it's harder to win against a larger field.

The limited field events really are getting old, not because Tiger always wins them, but because you sense they might introduce more leaderboard competition as we saw at the first two playoff events. 

"They're not making it public yet, but they're done. And you can tell by the way he's swinging the golf club." **

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Based on the improved look of Tiger's swing and an inside source, Steve Eubanks blogs that Tiger Woods and Hank Haney have split up.

Before the start of the second round of the Tour Championship, Butch Harmon nudged Adam Scott in the ribs and said, "It's pretty sweet that Tiger's trying to swing like you now."

In fact, there have been some noticeable changes in Tiger's swing of late. Gone are the exaggerated follow-throughs, the long, flat backswings, and the flat left wrist. The Tiger of today looks remarkably similar to the Tiger of 2001, a time when everyone said Scott's swing looked just like Tiger's. According to those in a position to know such things, there might be a good reason for Tiger's new look. According to sources close to the situation, Tiger and Hank Haney are, in a word, done. As one source put it, "They're not making it public yet, but they're done. And you can tell by the way he's swinging the golf club."

If true, this has been coming for some time. As early as April, when Tiger finished second at Augusta after hitting tee shots in every direction, he was observed making some curt comments to his instructor. At one point, the number-one player in the world turned to Haney on the driving range and said, "Get the f--- away from me."

Then in August, Haney signed on as the new director of the International Junior Golf Academy on Hilton Head, Island, a move that had many people wondering how Tiger's coach planned to balance his instructor duties with the demands of running a full-time school.

The final clue came this week when Haney was nowhere to be seen during The Tour Championship. With $10 million on the line, most coaches would have at least made a cursory appearance.

While no one in either camp would confirm the rumors at this time, evidence is mounting of a split. Stay tuned.

 

"Well, I think that overall the FedExCup was a success."

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A few highlights from Tiger's post-Tour Championship final round sitdown with the slingers.

Q. Kind of along those lines, aside from winning the TOUR Championship and the bonus, the FedExCup, how would you assess winning the first FedExCup?

TIGER WOODS: Well, I think that overall the FedExCup was a success. I think that there need to be tweaks, yes, there needs to be some tweaks, but I think overall it provided a lot of drama towards the end of the season, especially post-PGA when most of the guys shut it down. You know, post-PGA it's either Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup and that's basically all anyone ever talks about, now that the Bridgestone has moved to the week before the PGA especially.
I think we now know what they'll be wallpapering Tour headquarters with. 
Q. You talked about tweaks. Do you have any comments on what tweaks you would consider to make the tournament better? And what's it like, the final tournament for you this year, to go out with such a big bang?

TIGER WOODS: Well, I think -- what I described earlier to Fergie here, a couple days ago, I think that when you have 125 exempt players on TOUR and your first event is 144 guys, I thought a playoff was play all year for a smaller field, you're supposed to narrow it up, not have more players. Especially when we have limited field events, invitationals that have smaller fields, more elite, and I just think that the playoffs should be that many players. I think the playoffs you narrow the field down, and when you have 10 percent over what you do on the exempt player list starting off the first event, I think that's too many.

Consider it done!

Q. Have you ever considered playing the latest Jack Nicklaus course in Dominican Republic designed by Jack Nicklaus, 18 holes in the Caribbean with the capacity to receive the championship?

Huh? Oh sorry, Tiger...

TIGER WOODS: Say that again.

Q. Have you ever considered playing the latest course designed by Jack Nicklaus in Cap Cana, Dominican Republic, the only Jack Nicklaus designed 18 holes in the Caribbean with the capacity to hold a championship?

TIGER WOODS: I've heard about the golf course. I haven't been down there yet. I've always wanted to go. I haven't been down there yet.

Anyone have the slightest idea what that line of questioning was about? Television reporter/rally killer? Or are there actual rumors of the event moving to the Carribean?

Tiger Is One Last Good Week From Adding More Deferred Compensation He Does Not Need

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fedexcuplogo.jpgBob Harig says it's good for the FedEx Cup that Tiger Woods is leading, and while I understand the logic ratings-wise, is anyone else finding it hard to get excited about the prospect of Tiger or Phil adding a droplet of cash to their swollen portfolios? At least with Steve Stricker you have someone who $10 million will mean something too.

To put it another way, would the FedEx Cup be more interesting if the format allowed more players, including some underdogs, to have a chance of winning it all this week? 

"The atmosphere hasn't been quite the same."

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Good news for the Commissioner: fewer people are talking about Phil's defection.

Bad news: because everyone is talking about the lousy attendance and lack of buzz at normally amped up Cog Hill.

Read Four-putt posted a few thoughts on this, while Steve Elling wrote that Chicagoans can be comforted by the fact that 2008 will likely see more star defections at all of the season ending playoff events.

Chicago was a fantastic musical, and the media types have been crowing and dancing in both unison and perfect harmony to express their outrage that a burgh with 10 million folks will be left holding the bag in two of the next three years.

Let's not have a Mrs. O'Leary-sized cow, OK?

As much critical fire as the FedEx Cup plan has drawn from fans and sponsors for failing to deliver on its implied promises to put Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els on the same stage over four consecutive weeks, the real issues are fast becoming apparent.

By next year, the fields from this season's inaugural FedEx run are going to feel like the stars were present in perfect attendance. The potential potholes for 2008 with regard to scheduling, barring an organizational miracle, make this year's foibles seem like minor nuisances.

While the 2008 schedule hasn't been formally released, based on its likely structure, top players will be asked to compete seven times in an eight-week span, culminating with the greatest cauldron of pressure in the game, the Ryder Cup. When it comes to finding excuses not to play next year, gentlemen, start your search engines.

Meanwhile, Tiger was asked about the crowds, after getting some hard hitting questions out of the way...

Q. Did you go home from Boston or did you come straight here?
TIGER WOODS: I came straight here.

Q. Did you wear that shirt last week?
TIGER WOODS: Yeah.

Q. When is the last time you wore a shirt twice?
TIGER WOODS: I wear it all the time, actually. I'm not that way.

Q. I know it sounds really gay, but I recognized it (laughter). It looks good.
TIGER WOODS: Thanks. I love it.

Not that there's anything wrong with that!

Q. How were the crowds today?

TIGER WOODS: There were a few more people. Still, it's not the same as the Western, that's for sure. Granted, the weather was a little sketchy, so maybe they didn't come out because of that.

And I thought this was interesting. It seems Tiger thought so too:

Q. This is a public course, you obviously play really well here, and some of the other public courses you play really well. Is that a coincidence? Do you play well at these types of places? Do you feel at home? It's an odd question, but you grew up and cut your teeth on them.

TIGER WOODS: I certainly did not grow up on a country club, that's for sure. Yeah, public courses is where it was at. I grew up on a par-3 course, just with -- the longest hole was 150 yards I believe it was. Granted, I couldn't get there -- I used to hit driver, 7-iron when I first started playing it. That's what we did. The great thing with playing Southern Cal junior golf is you got a chance to play country clubs every now and then, and it was like the coolest thing in the world. Oh, my God, the greens are great here, that kind of thing.
I don't know, that's a good question.

Q. What was the par-3 course?

TIGER WOODS: Hartwell. It's in Long Beach.

Back to the sensitive subject at hand...

 Q. Do you see any difference in the tournament from last year to this year with the tournament having BMW as a sponsor?

TIGER WOODS: Well, the crowds haven't really come out this year so far. The atmosphere hasn't been quite the same. Granted, we moved the tee times up yesterday and then the bad weather today, so it's been kind of a double dip against the tournament. But hopefully this weekend people will come out and we'll get some great weather, and hopefully we can play some good golf and get everyone fired up.