Another Quiet Team Tiger Week: Foley Slams Bubba, Media

Brian Keogh did the dirty work in transcribing Tiger teacher Sean Foley's Dublin radio interview in which he stood up for his man.

Denying that he was angered by what Watson said, Foley added: “I wouldn’t say angry. I would just say, bud, you won three times the last 10 months, I am really pleased for you. You have worked hard and I think it is a great thing that you are playing so well. But why do you feel the need that you have to get the attention? What’s the use in making that comment?

“Let the guy do what he’s doing and you do what you’re doing and it will be fine. There is absolutely zero need for him to make that comment. But you know, Bubba loves the camera anyway so, I mean, whatever.”

And on the media...

"The fall from grace and how the media has treated him and how it has all went (sic). The guy’s name alone has brought like $600 million to charity.

"So they only paint one side of the picture. They keep taking about his swing and talking about his swing but on the weekend at Augusta he hit 31 of 36 greens and 24 of 28 fairways so, he is definitely headed in the right direction and when he starts putting a little bit better he is the greatest player ever. You can’t hold him back. I don’t think it matters who coaches him, as soon as he gets used to their style, he is Tiger Woods.

Steve Elling puts the Bubba comments into context and also shares Bubba's response to Tiger's flunkies.

For context, his Woods comments last week were the result of a query about Sean O'Hair and Foley splitting. Watson has never used a swing coach.

"I just told him [his management] that, look, you know me. I'm good friends with you," Watson said. "I've been a supporter of you the whole time I've been a pro and have known you. So I'm here for you, but I didn't do anything wrong.

"So yeah, the camp says I'm okay, but I haven't talked to the boss yet."
Woods was not doing cartwheels about the comments when he arrived at the Players Championship on Tuesday, and not just because he has a sore knee.

Of course this is all a minor annoyance for Tiger when you read what Ron Sirak says about this week's appearance:

This time around at the Players we are not wondering if Tiger and Elin Nordegren will divorce -- they have. This time around we are not wondering if Woods and swing coach Hank Haney will split -- they have. This time around we are not wondering whether the turmoil in Woods' private life would disrupt his professional career -- it did.
 
This time around the questions are these. When will the swing changes Woods is working on with new coach Sean Foley kick in? How healthy is the left knee that has been operated on four times and the left Achilles he said was hurting him when he withdrew from the Wells Fargo Championship two weeks ago?

Tiger To Bubba: "We'll talk."

Tiger's post-practice scrum included this:

Q. I know you and Bubba are friends. I was curious about your reaction to what he said last week about you going in the wrong direction.

TIGER WOODS: That was interesting.

Q. He said this morning that you guys haven't had a chance to talk.
TIGER WOODS: Not yet.

Q. Do you have an issue with it?
TIGER WOODS: We'll talk.

Q. Have you ever told him he needed a teacher?
TIGER WOODS: To each his own.

Wei explains the backstory to this earthshattering feud.

Jeff Rude sums up Tiger's Tuesday presser in which he suggests he's here for the reps pre-Congressional and not much else.

Asked about his game and lack of preparation, Woods said, “It is what it is. The whole idea is that I peak four times a year. I’m trying to get ready for Congressional (U.S. Open next month), and I need some playing time.”

Gene Wojciechowski says to not expect a great performance from Tiger this week.

So in review, Tiger's knee and Achilles are better, but not 100 percent. He has barely picked up a club in the past 4½ weeks. He's taking anti-inflammatories. And, by his own admission, his putting is in the dumper and his short game isn't much better.

Plus, Woods and The Players Championship aren't always on speaking terms. He hasn't won at TPC Sawgrass since 2001 and has only one top-10 finish since 2002. Last year, he had to withdraw in the final round because of a neck injury.

Yet the Vegas smart guys have Woods as the betting favorite this week. They're begging you to wager on him.

"It's not going to happen with this commissioner. A new commissioner might see otherwise."

Steve DiMeglio looks at the PGA Tour's insistence on keeping disciplinary actions private and gets this from Joe Ogilvie:

"I think you use your head on what should be announced. There are certain things that need to be kept within the Tour and there are certain things that can be made public. You guys are going to find out anyway. So, you can either control it, or you let (the media) control it. And I'd rather control it."

Ogilvie also said announcements could be a deterrent. But Ogilvie said he doesn't see the Tour changing it's current policy of keeping quiet.

"It's not going to happen with this commissioner. A new commissioner might see otherwise," Ogilvie said. "I'm not saying Tim is wrong, I'm just saying I'd look at it a little differently from a player's perspective. Maybe if I was in his position I'd think of the way he thinks of it.

"But Tim's not going to change his mind."

Tiger Commits! Tiger Commits!

From the PGA Tour: Tiger Woods has committed to THE PLAYERS, May 9-15, 2011, at THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

Media, PGA Tour VP's To Spend Friday Morning Hitting Browser Refresh Button

The anticipation builds as the future of The Players hinges on whether the ailing former world No. 1 will enter next week's event.

Sabbo, O'Hair Cat Fight Is Over Slow Play!

Considering that Sean O'Hair is a turtle and Rory Sabbatini is a rabbit, I'm not surprised by the revelation in Alex Miceli's look at the man-spat that broke out between the two PGA Tour giants.

According to sources, Sabbatini spent much of last Thursday and Friday complaining about the speed of play.  Eventually he asked O’Hair directly if he thought the speed of play was a problem and reportedly O’Hair said the problem was Sabbatini. Sources said O’Hair told Sabbatini that playing in a group with Sabbatini, a known speed-of-play advocate, was equal to a two-shot penalty for his playing competitors.

Steve Elling quotes Sabbatini after Wednesday's pro-am round, and he is playing dumb.

Pointedly asked after the pro-am if he was facing a suspension or under scrutiny, Sabbatini was equal parts defiant and testy.

"No, that is just all rumor, bud," he said. "You are going based on a rumor. How many times do I have to tell you?"

Pat Perez, the third player in the group in New Orleans, on Wednesday repeatedly declined to describe the altercation, which took place in a tee box during the second round.

"I am not going to be the guy on the front page," Perez said Wednesday at the tournament site. "It's for us to sort out."

There goes Pat's chances of winning the Jim Murray Award!

Rory Sabatini, Sean O'Hair Will Not Be A Featured Pairing Any Time Soon

Then again, when you read about their "heated exchange" and Sabbo's anger management issues, maybe a Thursday-Friday pairing at the Colonial could spice things up!

Stephanie Wei with the particulars on their Zurich Classic dust up that featured no punches thrown.

O’Hair, whose friends describe him as “non-confrontational,” will probably be slapped with a lighter punishment than Sabbatini, whose infamous temper has led to multiple run-ins (to his credit, he’s significantly simmered down). Word is Sabbo may face a multiple-week suspension, which he then has the option to appeal.

It appears the tension may have started at Riviera earlier in the year after an incident Steve Elling details.

At Riviera, Sabbatini berated a Shotlink volunteer who tried to come to the player's aid on the fifth hole after the South African hit a shot into some deep rough. The volunteer left the Shotlink tower, found a ball in the calf-high rough, and marked its location with a beverage container.

When Sabbatini arrived, he lost his temper and screamed at the volunteer, claiming the ball had been pushed deeper into the rough as a result of the bottle being placed in close proximity. According to caddie Frank Williams, who works for Stewart Cink, the third member of the group, Sabbatini had a complete meltdown.

"It was as bad as I have ever seen," Williams told CBSSports.com a few weeks after the incident.

A witness said Sabbatini ultimately removed his belt and threw it to the ground in disgust.

How adorable!

Tangled Webb During Sudden Death Playoff?

Golfweek's roundup of Sunday's Zurich Classic finale explains what happened with Webb Simpson's violation at the 15th hole, costing him a stroke that ultimately forced a playoff loss to Bubba Watson.

Simpson made bogey on the 15th hole after calling a one-stroke penalty on himself when his ball oscillated on the green. He was leading by one stroke at the time.

“You get greens like this that are burned out, balls are going to move all over the place,” he said. “It’s unfortunate.”

Simpson made birdie on the first playoff hole, after putting his second shot on the par-5 finishing hole over the green. On the second extra hole, he couldn’t get up-and-down out of a greenside bunker and settled for par.

Afterward, however, the talk focused on the ruling on 15 green.

“You have to call it on yourself in that situation,” he said. “But it stinks that the tournament might have been decided by a rule that’s borderline a good rule. I’m a little disappointed, but I’ll learn from it and hopefully have another chance next week.”

But it's what went on at #18 that caught the eye of several readers here and elsewhere online. Reader BenSeattle wrote:

When (on the first hole of the playoff) Simpson was took a drop from the greenside sprinkler and was allowed to PLACE his ball by hand after the first two rolled down the slope, didn't his first "place" come to rest? I thought it did when he took his hand away but just a second later he picked it up and tried once more. Again, it seemed to turn maybe a half revolution and settle but Simpson quickly picked it up again and then finally placed it in a spot to his liking.

Am I being a stickler or merely uninformed if I should maintain that Simpson picked up a ball that had legally "come to rest," was therefore IN PLAY and therefore Webb should have been penallized for THAT infraction as well?

Reader Red concurred:

After Simpson released his fingers from the ball when placing the first time, it appeared to be at rest. When he lifted it, I immediately thought, "Uh oh." I had a strong feeling that a couple of tour officials became instantly sick to their stomachs But when nothing came of it, I mentally let it go and assumed it MUST have moved..

According to the Rule-20...

d. Ball Fails To Come To Rest on Spot

If a ball when placed fails to come to rest on the spot on which it was placed, there is no penalty and the ball must be replaced. If it still fails to come to rest on that spot:

(i) except in a hazard, it must be placed at the nearest spot where it can be placed at rest that is not nearer the hole and not in a hazard;
  (ii) in a hazard, it must be placed in the hazard at the nearest spot where it can be placed at rest that is not nearer the hole.

If a ball when placed comes to rest on the spot on which it is placed, and it subsequently moves, there is no penalty and the ball must be played as it lies, unless the provisions of any other Rule apply.

The tape would seem to indicate the ball was at rest and perhaps because of nerves or because he thought it was moving, Simpson grabbed it again and tried to place it.  I'll leave it to you rules gurus to hash this one out. It doesn't impact the event either way, but it would be good to know!

2011 Zurich Classic Final Round Open Thread

They have a nice leaderboard down in New Orleans so hopefully it'll lead to an exciting finish, as it often does there. I'll be recording but not watching. I know that makes your day better knowing that.