Posted by Jason Sobel
Though I don't travel to Ponte Vedra Beach until first thing Wednesday morning, I've already seen where Tiger Woods had some less-than-complimentary comments about the famed 17th hole at TPC-Sawgrass' Stadium Course on Tuesday. How do I know? Well, for one thing, I read the
transcript from his press conference. For another, I've already been inundated with phone calls from radio stations around the country (well,
countries; Canada called, too), which usually tips me off to how much of a hot-button topic something really is.
You see, upon reading Woods comments today, I didn't think much about them. He was direct, truthful and hardly inflammatory. Here's what he had to say:
Q. With all the work they did here, would you have minded if they threw some dirt in at 17 and kind of filled in that water?
TIGER WOODS: You'd probably lose the allure of the hole. I've always thought that that hole is too gimmicky for the 17th hole of a championship. As far as the 8th hole, I think that would be a fantastic 8th hole, but not as the 71st hole of a tournament or 17th hole of your round.
Ummm ... OK. The 17th hole, surrounded on all sides by a water hazard, is gimmicky. (Whenever I hear it referred to as an island green, I always think of Kenny Mayne's inference that it's really an isthmus -- or else how would players be able to get there? Boat?) Not exactly breaking news there. As for re-routing the course and making it the penultimate hole on the opening nine, well, it ain't gonna happen. And I think the hole would be a lot less famous (infamous?) if it didn't directly affect the Players down the stretch on Sunday afternoon.
Even so, I didn't think Woods said anything too unsavory, but he had to know the follow-up questions were coming:
Q. Why do you dislike the 17th so much?
TIGER WOODS: I didn't say that.
Q. Why do you think it's -- you just wish it was like an 8th hole?
TIGER WOODS: Exactly. I just think it's a wonderful hole, but I don't agree with it being the 17th or 71st hole of a championship because I just think that it is a little gimmicky in that sense. I think it's a great 8th hole or another part of the golf course.
Q. What about 17 last week? What's the difference between 17 last week? It's almost the same concept.
TIGER WOODS: Well, exactly. A lot of guys weren't too happy with that, either. If they asked Fazio and all of our opinions on it, and everyone basically said, start over.
Q. What if [Bob] Tway had made 12 on the 8th hole a couple years ago? He's still out of the tournament, isn't he?
TIGER WOODS: I understand, but I just don't think that it's the right feel. I understand that fans love it. The players, some do, some like it, some don't. But hey, it's a challenge, you've got to hit a proper shot. There's no getting around it; you have to hit the proper shot to the proper distance. Today, with the wind blowing as hard as it is, it would have been a hell of a test in the championship.
Talk about trying to make a mountain out of a molehill. People wonder why Tiger doesn't speak out more, why he often disguises his true feelings when speaking with the media, why he doesn't take firm stances on the issues.
Well, here's Exhibit A. The guy makes a fairly innocuous comment and all of a sudden his words are being twisted around to reveal him as Pete Dye's arch enemy.
Let's understand a few things here: First of all, if any other player in the field -- big names like Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Vijay Singh included -- gives those same opinions, this story not only fails to garner headlines, no one even hears about it in the first place. But because it's Tiger, and because he said something not-so-nice, it's becoming scandalous.
Here's what we should really take from this: Woods might be right. No matter how much we like the drama that comes at the 17th hole, it is gimmicky. And yes, players in contention may need a certain amount of luck to overcome it down the stretch on Sunday. So, let's not blow Tiger's comments too far out of proportion.
