Tiger had a few poignant observations during his pre-tournament presser for the Players. Congratulations to Laura Hill on getting to moderate the discussion with the assembled media, (and by the way break a leg – that’s good luck – to Beth Murrison when her turn comes at the U.S. Open).
“Q. How different has this comeback been for you than the last time you had a long layoff, both with everything on and off the course for you?
TIGER WOODS: Very different. This is more taxing certainly away from the golf course, with a lot of the things, paparazzi following me and all those kind of things.
Q. And how has that kind of impacted your preparation? Last time you had a lot of time to prepare. You were able to chip and putt and things like that. How has that impacted your preparation?
TIGER WOODS: Well, it’s certainly different. You know, certainly didn’t have the distractions last time getting ready for events. You know, helicopters don’t normally fly over you on the range and kind of hover and film you. That wasn’t the case then, but that’s the case now.”
And then, of course, someone jumps in with a question that, instead of following up on this interesting line, is nothing more than a useless softball – a “rally killer” in the vernacular by a “point misser” as Dan Jenkins calls them:
“Q. What specifically are you working on with your game right now?”
That’s what happens when you get one question per session:):) Anyway, here is some more…about the steroids/Golf.com poll…
Q. Were you angry, surprised, I wondered what your reaction was to the SI poll that had 24 percent of players polled said they thought you had taken performance enhancing drugs in your career. What was your reaction?
TIGER WOODS: Well, I’ve never taken it. I’ve never taken performance enhancing drugs, never taken HGH, never taken any of that stuff. But everyone is entitled to their opinion.
Q. You weren’t angry about it, surprised?
TIGER WOODS: After what’s happened in my life?
Q. Can you talk a little bit about the dynamic of separating what’s going on outside the ropes and performing inside the ropes? And if you — A, how difficult that is; and B, do you find yourself – even though they’re completely different circumstances – drawing on however you did it when your dad passed, because obviously initially it wasn’t good, but you did come back and win the British not long after.
TIGER WOODS: Yeah, it’s just a matter of, for me, having the — getting my mind where it needs to be. And certainly I’ve made a lot of adjustments in my life, and I’ve gone through a lot. A lot….”
As you also know, things got worse for Woods on that front as the Daily News reported in December that Woods’ physical therapist Mark Lindsay – who is a principal with Galea in a Toronto sports medicine clinic – has deep ties to BALCO. Lindsay worked with athletes Bill Romanowski, Tim Montgomery and Marion Jones, who all testified in front of the grand jury that investigated BALCO’s dealings with steroids. Lindsay worked with Montgomery during the time that BALCO founder Victor Conte formed a group called “Project World Record.”
Anyway, eventually the conversation turned back to his mental state…totally relevant in light of his second missed cut in eight months:
“Q. You mentioned earlier that the emotional has kind of affected the physical. Could you be a little bit more detailed in that? Is it just fatigue or is it something a little more in terms of how one has carried to the other?
TIGER WOODS: Well, I’ve been trying to make life adjustments and make life changes. You know, a lot of people when they go through treatment, they’re able to make these adjustments in anonymity; I’m not. And that makes it a lot more difficult.”
And then – wait for it – here comes another rally killer:
“Q. We hear a lot these days about how pros’ drivers are set up for power. We don’t hear a lot about how they’re set up for accuracy. What is it about your current setup that enables you to keep it in the fairway or where you’re aiming?”
The pitcher just ground into a double play with the bases loaded. Oh well, I guess that’s better than the person who asked what Earl would think of Barack Obama. I’m not kidding!!!
“Q. Do you think Earl would be surprised we have a black president?
TIGER WOODS: No, not at all.
Q. What do you think he’d make of this guy?
TIGER WOODS: He was hoping that he would see that day. There’s no doubt he was hoping he’d see that day.
Q. What do you think he’d make of this guy?
TIGER WOODS: He’d be very proud.”
What potted plant asked that??!!
