It doesn’t seem like seven years ago since Vijay Singh’s caddy Paul Tesori showed up on the first tee at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, VA wearing the embroidered question “Tiger Woods” on the back of his cap.
Singh was about to play Woods in their Sunday singles match in the 2000 Presidents Cup. Woods and his caddy Steve Williams couldn’t help but notice. Woods evidently wasn’t too crazy about what was meant to be a joke, with a bit of acid in it, one supposes, and he went on to win the match.
Photo: © Jamie Squire/Getty Images Vijay Singh and his caddie Paul Tesori could of been the first to "tick off" Tiger Woods back at the 2000 Presidents Cup.
Who would have thought back then that this incident was the first in a line of jabs at Woods that have continued? Singh won’t be wearing any caps embroidered with the words should he face Woods in this week’s Presidents Cup at the Royal Montreal Golf Club, not are any players on the International side likely to try to stick it to Woods. Well, there could be an exception in the person of Rory Sabbatini, but more on his later.
Woods was asked after his match against Singh if he had anything to say to him about the question on the cap. Tiger wasn’t—forgive me—going to capitulate and take the bait.
“No need to,” Woods answered, “2&1.” The victory was all that mattered. Actions spoke louder than words. They always do for Woods. In fact, the most interesting aspect of the incidents that have occurred since the one at the 2000 Presidents Cup is how Woods responds. He’s the epitome of a wise course of action that is advisable on off the course.
The response is simply this: Say little and do much. Doesn’t this define Woods? It’s another reason he’s so compelling an athlete. The issue isn’t even whether some or most of what his fellow players say expresses any truths—often the comments do. The issue is the brilliant way he responds, or more to the point, doesn’t; not with words, anyway.
Sepp Gumbrecht, a professor of comparative literature at Stanford University, which Woods attended, came up with the perfect term to describe Woods. This is in his new book In Praise of Athletic Beauty (Harvard University Press, 2006). He wasn’t writing about Woods, but he was writing about a quality that the truly great athletes have, and that makes watching them a pleasure.
Gumbrecht writes of a “peculiar quietness,” and a “capacity of letting be.” That’s Woods, for sure.
Examine some incidents that have followed the cap incident. Move to 2003, when Phil Mickelson said in the March 2003 issue of Golf Magazine commented on Woods’ Nike equipment.
“He hates that I can fly it past him right now,” Mickelson, a Titleist player then, said. “He has a faster swing speed than I do, but he has inferior equipment. Tiger is the only player who is good enough to overcome the equipment he’s stuck with.”
Woods didn’t say a thing in response, not publicly anyway. He never does. Nike, however, did issue a statement.
“We question Phil Mickelson’s judgment for his statement regarding Tiger Woods and his equipment,” the statement read. “It is not only laughable, but complete unsupported by the facts.”
Mickelson soon issued a statement of his own, saying he meant to compliment Woods. He probably did, even if it was a ham-handed attempt to do so. Again, the point is that Woods didn’t take the bait and get into any kind of verbal battle with Mickelson. He did come out the next tournament and win the Buick Invitational in San Diego, in which Mickelson played.
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Ames answered, “Anything can happen, especially where he’s hitting the ball.” He said that to Doug Ferguson, the highly-respected Associated Press golf writer who knows the game inside out. Ferguson noted that Ames was smiling when he made his comment and observation.
The Golf Channel soon asked Ames to elaborate.
“How he goes about scoring from where he hits it—that’s the amazing thing,” Ames said. “That’s the mark of a true champion. As bad as he hits it, he still manages to win golf tournaments.” True words.
Woods was aware of what Ames said before they played their match. He beat Ames 9 & 8. Asked later whether he cared to comment on what Ames said, Woods answered, “9 & 8.” He was asked whether Ames’ comments fired him up, and he did say, “You might say so.” He would go no further. He’d addressed with his golf what Ames had said, or at least how he felt about one player commenting on another in that way—something he said he wouldn’t do although he thought Ames’ comments were fair.
That was last year. This year, in May, Sabbatini, who like Ames speaks his mind publicly, was paired with Woods in the last group at the Wachovia Championship. Woods clearly didn’t have his best stuff, but he still won. Sabbatini saw it all up close and personal, and soon offered his views of how Woods played.
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Sabbatini added, “I’ve seen [Tiger] when he figures it out. It’s scary. I don’t want to see that anymore. I like the new Tiger. I’m waiting for him to have kids to really test his patience.”
Sabbatini has been consistent in saying he wants to compete against Woods in the last group at tournaments. He wants to take on the best. Meanwhile, Woods was asked at the Players Championship about Sabbatini’s comments there. Woods was doing a small media scrum near the 18th green at the Players when he addressed his comments. It was eerie, almost chilling, to see the power and self-belief he expressed not even through his words, but through his eyes.
“If I remember the quote correctly, he said he likes the new Tiger,” Woods said, his voice even, betraying no emotion. “I figure I’ve won nine out of 12 [of his last 12 tournaments, that is]. I’ve won three times this year, the same amount he’s won in his career. So I like the new Tiger as well.”
Finally, we come to Woody Austin, who said that he outplayed Woods during the second round of the PGA Championship in August. Austin shot 70 while Woods shot 63 as they played together. Austin was saying his ball-striking was better than Woods that day, and he’s known anyway as a guy who thinks he’s a terrible putter who gets very little out of his rounds most of the time. So that’s what he meant by using the word “outplayed.”
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Austin came at Woods from a different direction at the Tour Championship. Woods had shot 63 in the second round while Austin shot 65 to finish three shots out of the lead, which Woods held. They’d be paired together in the third round.
“He's just hard to catch,” Austin said of Woods. “He's not hard to beat if you're playing as well and you're right there. But if you let him get in front of you, like I said, he's hard to catch.”
When Woods came into the press room he was told of Austin’s comments.
“Say that again?” he asked.
Ferguson explained what Austin said.
“Really? Fergie, I don’t know how you answer that one,” Woods said.
Woods again provided his answer via his golf. He won the Tour Championship by eight shot. He won the FedEx Cup. He never loses his cool, nor does he put his foot in his mouth. Say little and do much. Actions speak louder than words. These cliches apply to Woods.
So here he comes along with his U.S. teammates and their captain Jack Nicklaus to Royal Montreal and the Presidents Cup. Here he comes with a quality that is nothing less than fascinating. Here he comes with his “peculiar quietness.”
