Tiger Woods, the GOAT to many, was but a goat to all.
His interpretation, though. Not ours.
“One of the most embarrassing moments in my golfing career just happened,” he said.
So what did happen Tuesday? If you’re in search of brevity, Woods hit his ball 117 yards when he had 199 to go during play in the simulator-based TGL league. But that’s woefully selling it, well, short. The one-month-old league saw maybe its biggest stunner. In the moment, folks sprung up. Did the 15-time major winner just …? He did. Folks laughed. Did the 82-time PGA Tour winner just … ? LOL, he did. Folks wondered. Why?
Well, that depends.
To start, while playing a one-on-on match against Cameron Young on a 481-yard, par-4 hole inside SoFi Center in Florida, Woods’ first stroke was good. Two-ninety-four. Fairway. Here, the hearing got muddied, though. Woods stepped over to the bench area, where the caddie for his Jupiter Links Golf Club team, longtime Woods confidante Rob McNamara, was asked for a yardage.
“Ninety-nine,” he said, the conversation captured during the ESPN broadcast.
Woods asked again.
“Yup, 99,” McNamara said.
Hmm.
Ninety-nine then, Woods thought. He grabbed his 99-yard club, a 56-degree wedge. He walked back to the hitting area. He looked up at the 64-foot-tall, 53-foot-wide screen in front of him, mildly confused. He shouted back to McNamara: “How far?”
“Ninety-nine,” McNamara said a third time.
Hmm.
Woods hit. As he did, Woods’ teammates, Kevin Kisner and Tom Kim — who were fully aware that he had one-ninety-nine to go — were stupefied.
Said Kisner: “He’s got a wedge.”
Said Kim: “What are you doing?”
Said Kisner: “199.”
Woods’ ball dropped 117 yards away. As it did, his eyes popped out from his head seemingly just as far.
“You said 99 yards,” Woods said to McNamara. He then repeated himself — four times more. Kisner and Kim, meanwhile, dropped to the turf, laughing.
OK, OK, so who’s to blame here?
Woods? In golf, as you know, the golfer is the judge, jury and executioner in hitting the ball; the action is on them. Of course, you can seek counsel. So was McNamara at fault? Caddies are known to drop the first number in a yardage — 175 is just ’75,’ for example — as it’s typically clear. Until it isn’t. So maybe McNamara should have said “199.” Or maybe Woods should have asked: “99 or 199?”
From there, Woods double-bogeyed the hole, Young parred and Young won the hole for his New York City Golf Club team, which went on to win the overall match. TGL, though, allows in-play interviews, so viewers were treated to this exchange, between Woods and ESPN announcer Marty Smith.
Started Smith: “The greatest of all time, Tiger Woods, is still attempting to analyze what the hell just happened. But at least you can smile.”
Said Woods: “No, I heard 99 yards. And so I went out there and hit it 100 yards, and one of the most embarrassing moments in my golfing career just happened.”
