Tiger Ducks Crazy Fan; Golf Channel Protects The Guilty Hooligan
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Steve Elling documents what could have been a tragic incident Sunday at the Frys.com Open when a loser of epic proportions hurled a hot dog at Tiger and ran onto the field of play, only to be corralled by security.
The guy got a nice side salad of poa annua grass for his trouble. After he ran onto the green, the large security contingent assigned to Woods -- a mix of PGA Tour personnel, sheriff's deputies and Frys employees -- ordered him to stop.
The man immediately put his hands over his head and lay down with his face planted on the putting green. He was cuffed and hauled off.
Sgt. Jose Cardoza of the Santa Clara Sheriff's Department said the man, 31, admitted he'd had a drink earlier in the day, but wasn't drunk or on drugs. He was taken off the course, cited with a misdemeanor charge of disturbing the peace, and released, Cardoza said.
Because he wasn't formally arrested, his name was not released -- which means the whole apparent publicity stunt backfired. Cardoza said the man was repeatedly asked why he did it, and mostly just shook his head.
"He didn’t kind of elaborate or tell us why," Cardoza said.
As you would imagine for a channel that (proudly) airs a Donald Trump reality show, the Golf Channel's instinctual reaction to not show the holligan's act and ensuing detainment by security was a mistake.
Rich Lerner said this of Golf Channel's decision to not air the incident:
"Golf channel cameras were rolling on the scene but it was determined that the footage would not be shown in order not to encourage attention seekers."
I'm of the opposite view: show the attention seekers, right down to getting tackled and cuffed. Make sure their faces get some air time so that these human fleas of society are humiliated to the point that no one in their right mind would ever do such a thing or hire such a heathen.
I know, wishful thinking.
Reader Tim noted that AP and Getty Images have not posted images of the incident.
**Jeff Rude is high on Tiger's first appearance since the PGA and so were his playing partners Sunday:
Woods started the day nine strokes off the lead, tied for 38th at 4 under. But he birdied four of the first six holes and quickly climbed into a tie for ninth, five strokes behind 54-hole leader Briny Baird, who hadn’t teed off yet. Starting on the back nine, Woods converted from 12 feet at 10, his first hole, then birdied Nos. 12 and 14-15 inside of 6 feet.
“How good was that?” Atwal gushed. “He’s close. It’s just a matter of playing a little more. But the first seven holes, he looked awesome.”
The third member of the group didn’t disagree.
“Mentally, he looked like he was in the game again,” Rod Pampling said.
But it still appears that Tiger needs to just play more, yet Bob Harig notes, that's not happening.
Now what? Woods continues to say that playing more will help, but he is not adding either of the two remaining Fall Series events, this week's McGladrey Classic nor the Children's Miracle Network Classic at Disney World -- a tournament he has won twice.
Only once this year has he played in consecutive weeks, and that came in August at the Bridgestone and PGA Championship, tournaments for which he had very little time to prepare.
Until he gets into a competitive flow of tournaments, it is hard to judge him, good or bad, from just one week. Finishing 30th against a weak field isn't very good, but a top-five finish would not have necessarily suggested he's got all his problems solved, either.
