Unless you’ve been under a rock for the past couple of days, you know that Tiger Woods racked up his 69th victory yesterday against an admittedly less-than-stellar field at what may have been the last Buick Open. He started the day up a couple of shots, put it into Tiger robot mode and cruised to another win. There was much rejoicing in Flint, Mich., and a glimmer of hope that the impact of the win might save the downtrodden car manufacturer’s sponsorship. Wouldn’t bet the farm on it.
While the focus was on Tiger’s performance, there were two great sidebar stories. The first is an increasing amount of criticism of the Chosen One’s anger management issues. The club slamming and swearing seems to have gotten even worse this season as he battles some of the frustrations from an “inconsistent” (by his standards) post-surgery swing.
Look, for a lot of people – particularly young players – Tiger is golf. There’s no doubt that some percentage of those watching will emulate him. Frankly, it’s just poor form and probably the only chink in Tiger’s otherwise shining armor. Rick Reilly of ESPN says it better than I can, but the point is that someone he respects needs to pull him aside and tell him to chill. His reputation and the sport will be better off for it.
If you watched the end of the tournament yesterday, you may know about the second little story. Tiger and Steve are standing in the middle of the 18th fairway, victory in hand, waiting to hit in, put out and pick up another big check. As usual, they’re talking quietly – presumably about club selection or the new Harry Potter movie or whatever – when suddenly the CBS microphone nearby picks up an unusual sound that is immediately recognizable as a rip-roaring fart. Tiger and Stevie immediately lose it, cracking up and looking over to their right at the culprit. Who, you ask, would have the temerity to break wind at such a serious and auspicious moment? The main suspect is, not surprisingly, the famously flatulent David Feherty. Check out the video.