Tiger Woods questions ex-coach

These days, it takes a lot to ruffle Tiger Woods' feathers publicly. Steve Williams, his former caddie, turned against him and Tiger barely spoke a bad word about the looper. Anything that came out in the media during his tumultuous return to golf was always followed by virtually a "no comment" by Tiger.
So to hear his words about the upcoming book about him written by his former coach, Hank Haney, were rather surprising. ESPN's Bob Harig talked with Tiger over the phone, and the words he expressed were that of disappointment.
"I think it's unprofessional and very disappointing," Woods [said], "especially because it's someone I worked with and trusted as a friend.
"There have been other one-sided books about me, and I think people understand that this book is about money. I'm not going to waste my time reading it."
The book, titled "The Big Miss," comes out March 27 and is said to be about the coaching years of Haney and Woods, but one would figure that some personal stuff will be sprinkled on the pages that Haney publishes.


So while Woods is unlikely to get sympathy, you can understand his frustration as he is about to begin the 2012 season next week in Abu Dhabi.


He would very much like to get the conversation back to golf, and it typically turns into something else.


Last year it was former caddie Steve Williams making the headlines and now it's Haney. Both, as Woods has acknowledged, played instrumental roles in his success, Williams on the bag for 12 years and 13 majors titles, and Haney coaching him through a six-year run of excellence that all but the game's best will never touch in their careers.


Neither had anything to do with the off-course scandal from which Woods, two years later, is still trying to recover. Woods brought that on himself, but did he invite the drama brought on by Williams not once, but twice, in the aftermath of his firing? Or a book that may or may not be flattering that will be unveiled a week prior to the Masters?


Woods sounded upbeat Thursday as he prepares for his 16th full season as a professional. He took a full two weeks off after his victory last month at the Chevron World Challenge, his first win anywhere since 2009. He has been building up slowly, progressing from the green back to full clubs with one eye already on the Masters.


"I think the prep for Augusta started on the Monday after the World Challenge," he said. "The mind kind of switched to that. It's always been that way. Once a major is over, you focus on the next one. It's such a big delay between the PGA and the Masters. Ultimately, I want to have my game peak four times a year."


To that end, he is making his first trip to next week's Abu Dhabi tournament on the European Tour, skipping the Torrey Pines PGA Tour event, where he has won seven times total, including his last major at the 2008 U.S. Open.


Two weeks later, he will make his PGA Tour debut at the Pebble Beach AT&T National Pro-Am, where Woods -- who is playing in the tournament for the first time in 10 years -- confirmed he will be paired with Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo for the first three rounds.


Asked how the pairing came together, Woods said it's been in the works for months.


"He called me when I was in Australia [in November] and asked me if I was playing Pebble," Woods said. "And I said yes. He said, 'I'd like to throw my name in the hat as a possible pairing.' I thought about it and then I called him a day later and said, 'All right, you're in if you want to be in.