Whoever advised Tiger Woods to go into hiding for three months needs to be fired! When you boil it down to its bare essentials, all Tiger has done is cheat on his wife. Yes, the magnitude to which he has done that is extraordinary, with upwards of a dozen different women. But if he had nipped this in the bud months ago with an apology, things would have gone much differently. Rip it off like a band-aid, quickly and thoroughly. But by hunkering down for three months, he allowed it to fester like a nasty sore, and get worse. On Friday in Ponte Vedra, he took the first steps to the road back to recovery both mentally and publicly with a 13-minute prepared statement delivered in front of a small group of 50 friends, family members, Tour officials and media.

It was clear to me Tiger didn’t want to be there. His sponsors (namely Nike) wanted him there, to make a statement, to show his face, to somehow overturn the incredible swell bad press he’s been receiving for the last three months. But the whole staged event didn’t feel right. I felt weird and uncomfortable watching it. Some have said it felt like a funeral or church service – I would agree with both of those comparisons.

There were two separate elements in play during those 13 minutes: Words and Body Language. His words were great, whoever might have written them, and if all you did was read the transcript then you likely think it went well. But his body language was horrific. No emotion. The delivery was far too slow and monotone. Yes, I realize this must have been difficult for him to do, and he does get credit for actually doing it, but he didn’t do it well. I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but…. he didn’t live up to gold standard for public cheating apologies which has been set by Kobe Bryant. Kobe showed real emotion. You actually felt sorry for him as you watched his apology a few years back. And Kobe’s wife was present, which greatly helped his cause. Where was Tiger’s wife? His mom was there on Friday, so clearly he wasn’t trying to hide his family.

Some say this was one of his 12 steps. At first I chuckled at that, but that is exactly what it is. I was surprised to hear him mention his Buddhist roots. I’ve never heard Tiger refer to his religion, and I think it is certainly a good thing he has chosen to do it in this instance.  

As for the positives, I like that he said he needs to clean up his on-course behavior. He’s gotten a pass for that way too long – the cursing and club throwing needs to stop. I also like that he said he thought he was entitled to indulge in the temptations afforded by fame and money, but now realizes that he doesn’t get to play by a different set of rules as everyone else in this world. Whether he truly means that remains to be seen – actions do speak louder than words.

And of course the revelation that he’s not sure when he’ll return to the golf course, and that he doesn’t rule out it will be in 2010, was the most concrete “golf” news he delivered. If there’s one thing we golf fans have become used to seeing over the last 13 years, it is Tiger Woods prowling in red along with the dogwoods and azaleas on a final round Sunday at the Masters. Now that possibility for 2010 is in danger.

The next thing I want to hear from Tiger is when he’s returning to the PGA Tour. Everything else is between him and his wife and his children. And the more time he spends away from the game of golf, the harder it becomes to cynically contend he’s not sincere when he says he wants to become a better person.

Good Luck Tiger.

Listen to Russ Evans every Sunday morning at 8am on Golf Exchange presented by The Honda Classic. You can email him at revans@thehondaclassic.com.

Scott McCarron was dead on when he called Phil Mickelson out for “cheating” by using 20 year old Ping Eye-2 wedges at Torrey Pines. Phil is way too talented to be stooping to John Daly-type levels. (JD pulled the same trick two weeks prior at the Sony Open) The spirit of the groove rollback is to remove sharp square grooves from all play on the PGA TOUR, regardless of when the club was made or if it circumvents the current regulations because of a legal technicality. Now Padraig Harrington has come out and said he’s considering putting the old Pings in play this year.

Tim Finchem admitted he has a mess on his hands Wednesday at a presser at the Northern Trust Open, “The key thing here is that we have a situation where there is a club available—legal, that is capable of spinning the ball more than clubs in our current rules, and it is a club that is not available to everybody, and it is a club that some players by contract can't play because they have agreed with a manufacturer to play the other club, and in those agreements they implicitly understood that all clubs would be monitored the same way. So that's a problem.” His best move would be to do whatever necessary to overturn the 1993 Ping ruling and outlaw every make and model of sharp square grooves on TOUR. Rocco Mediate said it best: "They need to get rid of them all. Grandfather rules are total bull. You look for a loophole? Why? Use the grooves we are supposed to use."

Since returning from Orlando last week, the one question I keep getting asked is, “What was the coolest product I saw at the 2010 PGA Merchandise Show?” And while recyclable golf balls, military grade rangefinders, and foldable pull carts are all nifty in their own ways, the guys from Tour Edge in Chicago get my Blue Ribbon. Check out the first ever titanium faced 3-wood in the golf industry: http://touredge.com/ Tour Edge guarantees you’ll hit their club 20 yards further than your current steel faced 3-wood, or your money back.

I was just day-dreaming about hearing this at the 2030 U.S. Women's Open: "Now on the tee, from the University of Florida, the reigning 2029 U.S. Amateur Champion.... Lily Evans”  (Lily is my 1-year old daughter by the way)… Okay, now back to the blog.

Tom Watson has joined Geoff Ogilvy as the only TOUR players (besides Jesper Parnevik, who was so close to the story that his comments were far too biased) to publicly rebuke Tiger Woods. Watson said this week that Tiger must “show some humility to the public” once he returns to competitive golf after sorting out his marriage. Watson went on to question Tiger’s on-course behavior, “He hasn’t carried the same stature as that of other great players who’ve come along like Nicklaus, Palmer, Nelson, and Hogan, with his language and club throwing on the course. He needs to clean up his act and show the respect for the game that other people before him have shown.” No doubt Tom is absolutely correct in his comments, but my question is, if these were your feelings on Tiger’s appalling behavior, why did it take this whole car crash/adultery admission/sex addiction clinic catastrophe for you to voice them publicly?

Speaking of Tiger, multiple online reports have him returning to action in two weeks at the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship in Phoenix, Arizona. My $0.02: no chance in hell Tiger makes his much anticipated return at an event sponsored by a company that just terminated his endorsement contract.

This last note is a shameless plug, so please forgive me. Andy Kent did a fabulous job of profiling Pat Rooney Jr. and me in the February issue of The Tee Times. Click here to read the article: http://teetimesnews.com/news/index.php

Listen to Russ Evans every Sunday morning at 8am on Golf Exchange presented by The Honda Classic. You can email him at revans@thehondaclassic.com.

How can we hope to find something, when we’re looking in the wrong place? This is how I feel about Americans as a whole, and our youth in particular, when it comes to celebrity worship. Tiger Woods’ fall from grace (as well as my recent entry into fatherhood) has forced me to re-evaluate who and what I choose to glorify, and where I look to find role models.

I’m as guilty as anyone for placing athletes on a pedestal. I wallpapered my room in Michael Jordan posters as a youth, and, more recently, shelled out $200 for Tiger’s signature golf shoes. Add to this my chosen profession of commenting on these athletes exploits in every form of medium, and I am surely walking one fine line of hypocrisy. But why? Why do we care so much about people who have no idea who we are and, more importantly, couldn’t care less?

If there is any scintilla of redemption, it might be that I choose to admire those with some sort of athletic virtuoso versus “reality” TV stars who have no discernable talent other than the good fortune to be included in the cast. But somehow the fact that I root for Tiger, MJ, and Derek Jeter instead of Paris Hilton or Kim Kardashian doesn’t make me feel any better.

Bottom line is this: marvel at Tiger Woods for how he plays golf, but not for how he lives his life. There is a difference in hero worship and admiration of talent. We are better served to choose role models who first and foremost know us personally or have touched our lives in some way, and who exhibit qualities and values that we aspire to emulate. Our heroes should be parents, grandparents, teachers, coaches, pastors, rabbis, and counselors. Kind of sounds like what Charles Barkley was lambasted for saying in those black-and-white Nike ads from the 90’s….”just because I dunk a basketball doesn’t mean I should raise your kids!” 

This hero worship is part of what is dumbing down America. We now live in an age where presidents fornicate with interns in the oval office, governors use tax payer money to fly to Argentina visiting mistresses, and where world class golfers accumulate harems fit for a sheik. The “dumbness factor” is most evident in our entertainment. Television is flooded with these inane “reality” shows, such a joke that anyone would dare call it reality when the subjects are so clearly aware they’re being filmed and therefore hamming it up. No wonder this country hardly manufactures products anymore: We export crappy entertainment and import everything else.

Perhaps I’m a bit cantankerous in the wake of Tiger’s fall from grace. It is no doubt disappointing, and depressing, and a bit overwhelming. Actually make that REALLY overwhelming. The New York Post ran a Tiger story on its front page for 20 consecutive days, breaking the previous record of 19 set by the terrorist attacks of 9/11. I’ve certainly been disappointed by many of my peers in the media throughout this entire saga. Whether it be ESPN or Sports Illustrated or The Golf Channel or Golf Digest, it seems nearly every outlet has gone past simply reporting the story and delved into the brand of sensationalism that was previously reserved for the “Access Hollywoods” and TMZ’s of the underworld.

But if we as Americans didn’t consume it, they wouldn’t be dishing it out, which brings us back to us! We now live in a country that has seen the average salary in professional sports double over the past two decades while wages of average workers over that same period hasn’t kept up with inflation. We have created this giant mess of overconsumption, and the question now is how much farther will it be allowed to grow before the backlash? Or better yet, has the backlash already begun?   


Listen to Russ Evans every Sunday morning at 8am on Golf Exchange presented by The Honda Classic. You can email him at revans@thehondaclassic.com.

It is a sad day to be a Tiger Woods fan, but not for the reasons you’re likely thinking.  Yes, this entire car crash/domestic dispute/alleged affair saga is disturbing on many levels, and there is no doubt more to the story then we will ever know. But I find no fault with Tiger’s decision to keep the matter a private one. Of course, with his reluctance to appear publicly, speculation runs rampant, and it’s ridiculous for Tiger to label the media machine irresponsible when he’s unwilling to set the record straight by way of public words. But it is certainly his right, both legally and morally, to keep the matter in-house and remain silent. If facts come out that prove he was impaired while behind the wheel, or there indeed was an act of domestic violence, I reserve the right to change my opinion on the entire sordid mess. But as of right now, it appears Tiger has committed no crime graver than failing to wear a seatbelt. And we must all keep in mind that as Americans, we are innocent until proven guilty.

However, where I do find fault with Tiger is in his decision to completely skip his Chevron World Challenge, which begins Thursday in California. It’s obvious to me that his non-appearance at the tournament is an effort to further evade the media. He’s cited injuries from the accident as reason he will not be playing. Do we have a situation now where Tiger is taking inconsistent positions? On Friday, Tiger’s injuries were characterized as “minor” by his camp. Now all of the sudden the injuries are too major for him to attend an event he helped create and from which his foundation greatly benefits. I have no problem with him not playing golf. But, not appearing at all, even to host the event that raises millions of dollars for the Tiger Woods Foundation? Now I’ve got a problem. So the doctors said he shouldn’t fly. Fine. How about you get someone to drive you out there, or take a bus, or a train?! Do whatever it takes to put on a smile and host the charitable event which bears your name. Take a picture with the Chevron CEO holding a giant sized check with multiple commas. Be there to present the eventual champion with the trophy. Why not? Without any more information from Tiger’s camp, it looks like he’s failing to honor his commitment simply to avoid fielding some very tough questions. Now, if indeed his injuries are too severe to travel even by auto or rail, then this point is moot. I understand that he doesn’t want to make any public statements. Fine. Set the ground rules for the week by saying you’ll only discuss the golf tournament you are there to host. Or simply issue a “no comment” to any questions containing the words “Elin”, Escalade”, or “National Enquirer”. But don’t desert your charitable foundation in its finest hour.

In regards to how this incident will affect his image long term, I’m in the camp that thinks it will have little impact. Need I remind you Kobe Bryant was accused of rape just five years ago? Chicken Littles came out from every corner predicting gloom and doom, and things have turned out just fine for the Lakers guard. They will as well for Tiger – as long as it is not proven that he in any way harmed his wife or was impaired while driving. Tiger has built a very commendable 15-year public history of doing the right thing. Certainly his image will suffer a bit here over the short term, but as soon as Tiger dons his next green jacket, all will be forgiven.

Listen to Russ Evans every Sunday morning at 8am for Golf Exchange presented by The Honda Classic. You can email him at revans@thehondaclassic.com.

With the end of this 2009 PGA Tour season comes an end to the entire decade of golf. It is amazing to me how many first time major winners broke through over the past 10 years, and haven’t been heard from (by way of a follow-up victory) since!

The first man on our list is David Duval, whose last PGA Tour win was the 2001 British Open at Royal Lytham & St. Annes. “Double D” went from the #1 ranked player in the world to missing 42 cuts in 50 starts between 2003 and 2005. He made a valiant run this past summer at Bethpage, falling two strokes short of Lucas Glover and tying for second (along with Phil Mickelson & Ricky Barnes) at the U.S. Open, his first Top-5 finish since a T-4 at the ’02 Memorial.

In 2002 Rich Beem authored perhaps the wackiest victory dance in PGA Tour history, an indescribable shimmy on Hazeltine’s 18th green after sinking the winning putt at the PGA Championship. The only memorable highlight from the Texan since was his jump into a Nissan convertible celebrating a hole-in-one in 2007 at Riviera. He has finished outside the top 125 on the money list four times over the last six years.

The very next year, in 2003, Shaun Micheel, ranked 169th in the world, hit an unforgettable 7-iron to inches en route to claiming the PGA Championship at Oak Hill . ’07 was his best season since, with three top-10 finishes and $1 million in earnings.

2004 was a career season for journeyman Todd Hamilton. He kicked off the campaign with a win at The Honda Classic, then just four months later bested Ernie Els in a playoff at Royal Troon to hoist the Claret Jug. Hamilton has only one Top-10 on Tour since. This season he made a run at his second in Augusta, before falling short and finishing T-15 at the Masters.

The list of men who Tiger Woods has finished second to in majors is short, and it includes Michael Campbell. The New Zealander edged the striped one for the U.S. Open in 2005. He has since been saddled with a slew of injuries, most notably to his shoulder, and hasn’t come close to matching the brilliance we saw at Pinehurst.

The early candidates for next decade’s Non-Validations include Trevor Immelman, Stewart Cink, Y.E. Yang, and the aforementioned Glover. No chance these men go an entire decade without at least one more win, is there?


Listen to Russ Evans every Sunday morning at 8am on Golf Exchange presented by The Honda Classic. You can email him at revans@thehondaclassic.com.

With the American’s 5-point victory over the Internationals in the 8th edition of the Presidents Cup at Harding Park, it’s the first time the USA has held both the Ryder and Presidents Cups simultaneously in almost a decade. No surprise who the three best golfers for captain Freddy Couples were: Tiger Woods, Steve Stricker, and Phil Mickelson…the guys who finished 1-2-3 in the Fed Ex Cup playoffs two weeks prior.

Tiger and Stricker were world beaters, rolling to a 4-0 record teamed together. Tiger extended his mark to a perfect 5-0 by waxing defending Honda Classic champion Y.E. Yang 6 and 5 in their singles match, clinching the cup with a birdie on the 13th hole in the process. (Tiger joins Mark O'Meara (1996) and Shigeki Maruyama (1998) as the only players to go 5-0 at the Presidents Cup, while the Woods-Sticker team becomes the first pairing in 30 years, since Larry Nelson & Lanny Wadkins at the 1979 Ryder Cup, to go 4-0 in team play.)

As for the vanquished Internationals, most thought (including this blogger) that captain Greg Norman’s decision making was more than a bit off when he made Adam Scott one of his captain’s picks. (Scott’s world ranking has plummeted more than 50 spots over the last year thanks to his abysmal play) The leadership didn’t get any better in San Francisco. It is an absolute joke that Norman’s already been offered (an accepted reportedly) the captaincy two years from now at Royal Melbourne. Evidently the fact he’s an Aussie trumps his unfortunate lack of leadership skills. Perhaps the Shark isn’t even shook up over this loss. He has more important matters pending as his marriage to Chris Evert deteriorates. On the bright side, his Greg Norman private label wine was selling for $7 a glass at Harding Park, so that should help with the lawyers fees.

As for the venue, Harding got rave reviews as host. The players liked the course, and the setup was fair but challenging, with birdies and bogies lurking on every hole. But the clincher is how strong the Bay Area golf fans came out to support the festivities. Joining the San Francisco masses during the week were a number of luminaries, including Willie Mays, Bill Clinton, Charles Schwabb, Barry Bonds, Condoleezza Rice, and John Madden. This much is certain: Harding Park should host another PGA TOUR production sooner rather than later. It is easily one of the top five greatest public venues in our nation.

Congratulations to a number of local south Florida winners announced recently during the 2009 SFPGA Annual Awards: Public Merchandiser of the Year: Brian Symonds, Winston Trails GC; Private Merchandiser of the Year: Tom Dyer, Old Marsh GC;  Resort Merchandiser of the Year: Tim Collins, Breakers Palm Beach; Assistant Professional of the Year: Lance McAllister, Mizner CC; Junior Golf Leader of the Year: Don Law, Don Law Golf Improvement Center; Teacher of the Year: Charlie DeLucca, International Links of Miami Melreese.

 Listen to Russ Evans every Sunday morning at 8am on Golf Exchange presented by The Honda Classic. You can email him at revans@thehondaclassic.com.