Straffan, Ireland – The moderator at Tiger Woods’ pre-Ryder Cup news conference Wednesday probably thought he was being a pleasant fellow. He began the session by inquiring about Woods attending a soccer match in London.
Woods, however, was having none of that, slapping away the query like it was Phil Mickelson asking for a tip on how to win majors. Instead, the world’s No. 1 player took the local media to task, specifically a magazine article that blasted the American wives and girlfriends and published nude photos of a woman it claimed was Woods’ wife, Elin.
“I’m very disappointed,” Woods said. “I do not accept that at all; to link her to porn websites and such is unacceptable.”
The article in The Dubliner magazine states, “Most American golfers are married to women who cannot keep their clothes on in public. Is it too much to ask that they leave them at home for the Ryder Cup? Consider the evidence. Tiger Woods’ wife Elin Nordegren can be found in a variety of sweaty poses on porn sites across the Web …”
However, while Woods acknowledged that Elin Woods is a former model who has done swimsuit work, the photo used in the magazine wasn’t his wife.
While not addressing the photograph, the magazine issued a statement Wednesday that read in part that the publisher and staff acknowledged the “satirical article was inappropriate” and that “the publisher believed that readers would not be left with the impression that there was any truth in the assertions, it being an absurd parody of inaccurate tabloid publishing generally.”
Tiger Woods was careful to stress he has been pleased with the reception he and his teammates have received in Ireland, adding that he wanted the focus to remain on the competition, which begins Friday. However, he felt he could not let the incident go unchallenged.
“You do things for the people you love and care about,” he said. “For years, my father got ridiculed for certain things and I always defended him. It’s been the same way with my mother.
“My wife, we’re in it together. She’s an extension of me; we do things as a team and I care about her with all my heart.”
Fun and games
The onset of inclement weather has started playing havoc with the Cup. On Wednesday, the course was closed to spectators for more than three hours when officials deemed conditions unsafe. When fans were eventually allowed on the grounds, there really wasn’t much to see. Both teams practiced briefly, trying to dodge the sideways rain and howling winds that gusted to above 45 miles per hour.
The U.S. team tried to make sport of it, choosing to concentrate on their short games. Playing on the par 3s and from about 150 yards in on the other holes along the front nine, teams were formed with a skins game competition for the best scores.
According to David Toms, he and partner Scott Verplank were the big winners, but the best shot may have been one Chad Campbell hit.
On the 430-yard No. 7, each player was required to skip his approach shot across the water fronting the green; Campbell’s attempt ended up a few feet from the hole.
“I don’t know if he practices those or what, but it was amazing,” said Toms, who added the experience was just another example of how the U.S. team is bonding in its attempt to reverse its string of four losses in the past five competitions.
“We got to spend that whole time all together instead of in three or four different groups,” Toms said. “We made fun of each other and took a day that could have taken a lot of adrenaline out of us and turned it into something that I thought was very positive.”
