Naw...he just broke their balls the same
way FedEx broke my clubs a few
years ago. (Remember that FedEx? You
shattered those shafts like cheap tees!)

I need to have Baldwin write my heads...Golfer Girl Magazine KICKS GOLF DIGEST IN THE GROIN, or Tiger's words KICK WOODY IN THE GROIN, or even High Carolina and Tiger KICK WALKERS IN THE GROIN. Now that captures the attention of viewers.

CHRIS,
YOU NO LONGER WRITE ABOUT MS. WIE?! Oh, I almost forgot...she can not even make the cut on the LPGA.

Chris,

I find it somewhat of an anomaly that you find something wrong with Tiger snubbing the first round of the FedEx cup.

Maybe the suits at FedEx need a beatdown just like his opponents on the PGA tour.

Chris, you're so right, this is a kick in the nuts for Tim Finchem, Barclays, Fed-Ex, and the PGA tour. I've always felt that IMG and Tiger would like to start a Tiger tour. Tiger brags about his conditioning yet 10 days off wasn't enough time to get ready for the Barclays ?

Rule change #1 for next year's Fed-Ex cup ( if there is one ) : If you don't play in a "playoff" event you are done and can't play in any of the others. Of course they won't do this because they're scared sh1tless Tiger would just blow the whole thing off.

Final comment : I believe Tiger has an endorsement deal with Deutsche Bank so that is undoubtedly why he's skipping the Barclays. IMG got a phone call.

Yes, the idea that Woods, a supremely well-conditioned man, would still be "exhausted" after ten days is laughable.

Oliver--you're on to something, I think.
Can't believe Tiger's not recovered after
10 days. (Unless Elin's recovered from
childbirth and she rewarded him grandly
for another major...)

None of you..not a single one of you can understand, know, relate to or comprehend what that guys puts into each and every tournament he plays physically and mentally. You compare what he does to your exploits hacking up 18 holes and say it's only golf. He is going where no one has ever gone in this game and the results speak for themselves. Unless you walk in his shoes and truly know what he feels and what he puts into a tournament--a major, and what it takes out of him, collectively, shut the f*&% up!!!

Brooklyn Decker joins the fray. Glad to read the opinion of an SI swimsuit model. Brook, you on a one-to-one with The Woods? Oh, f*&% is spelled f(*&, incidentally.

Poppycock, Brook. I was a professional athlete, engaging in a pursuit that was far more strenuous than golf, and there is no way that an athlete will not have recovered after ten days. However, since YOU obviously were never an athlete, perhaps it is you who cannot understand.

Hey Brook, a lot of people who write comments on these boards know a thing or two about professional golf so instead of telling everyone to shut the F up you might want to try and learn something. There IS a reason Tiger is not playing in the Barclays and it ain't that he's tired. He said after the grueling PGA that he felt as good on the 18th hole as he did on the 1st and that his physical conditioning was the reason. He also said that golfers are athletes and need to be in great shape like professionals in other sports. Finally he said he intended to play in the Barclays as well as the other playoff events. What changed ? I think my final comment above is the most likely reason. Tiger has had a history of never playing in events that were sponsored by competitors of companies that he represents. Understand that the PGA Tour does not allow anyone to pay appearance money. Some top players circumvent this rule by signing endorsement deals with companies that sponsor tour events and then play in those events. An example would be the Deutsche Bank event which Tiger has played in every year even though it is not the kind of tournament you would expect him to play. Deutsches bank is a competitor of Barclays. Some might say they were competitors 6 months ago so why did he say he was playing. I don't think he wanted to say "I'm not playing in the Barclays" right away. He always said "I intend to play in the 4 playoff events". Tiger is a great golfer, probably the greatest ever but I am not at all sure that his involvement with IMG has been good for him. I believe strongly that they are the reason he does things like this. If he had just said I will play 3 of the playoff events right away there would have been no problem.

Tiger could be just fuxxing his brains out! too
hence, the exhaustion!... for instance.

Well, there you have it--Judge was a professional athelete, therefore he knows what it takes...Where can we read about you in the record books? How many years did you sit atop the mountain of your sport? How bright was the spotlight that captured your every exploit?

I repeat, none of US understands what he puts into his preparation, all we know is his formula works--he gets the job done. Whether his exhaustion is mental or physical, his level of performance earns the benefit of doubt, in my opinion.

And Oliver, to your well thought out final argument I offer: Arnold Palmer sponsored by MasterCard(American Express); Ford Champ at Doral(Buick), Wachovia Champ...you get the point.

How about the PGA Tour kicking last week's Greensboro (Wyndham) Open at the groin?

They know full well that the top pros will rest up before 4 weeks of non-stop playing. Not to mention that the event will be treated like a 'Monday qualifier' for the people hovering around the 144 FedEx points.

Now where's the respect from the PGA Tour to the organizer to the event?

Brooklyn,

You're assigning too much mysticism to Woods' preparation regimen.

As a matter of fact, Tiger plays golf professionally, he doesn't run marathons or swim the English Channel for his paychecks.

Outside of practicing diligently,
watching his weight, staying fit with exercise, and getting a good amount of rest and a proper diet, what else could his regimen consist of?

I am pretty good friends with a PGA touring pro, one who is a few years away from the Champions' Tour. He has won more than once on the PGA tour. I won't divulge his name but he is an Ohio State alumnus and he makes his home in upstate New York.

He read your post and got a good chuckle from it. To any touring pro, playing a round of golf ,or even four rounds, is a piece of cake, an everyday occurrence. One day of relaxation is more than enough to recharge one's batteries.

His opinion is that Tiger wins more than anyone else not so much because he has any magical shots, but that he has more natural ability than almost any other pro, he maintains his level of play more consistently than any other pro, and he nev er accepts anything but the best from himself.

My friend said that Tiger was certainly within his rights to decline playing in the Barclay's, but exhaustion of any type was no factor.

Obviously Tiger (or Tiggy as we know him in this household) has every right to skip whichever tournament he wants BUT...... to cite exhaustion? How about all the other guys who played 4 rounds in the same conditions? I would think they were far more exhausted than him because they didn't win. If he is a more superb athlete than the rest, how come he is the only one who has not recovered sufficiently? Ok I admit it, I respect him as a superb golf
player, but I am not a fan in any other respect. I am just so happy that I will be able to follow the Barclays's w/o wall to wall coverage of him for a change. Only problem is how to get rid of guests inadvertently invited for (us) Bank Holiday w/e.

Nice choke job by your girl Paula Creamer yesterday missing those two tap ins.

Hory,

Choke job by Paula?

I thought she finished second?

I didn't see it, but was there any chance for Paula to win?

Brook,

If NONE of us can begin to understand the realities of an elite professional athlete's life, how can you be so sure that we're wrong?

Oh, and the only thing you can know for sure is that YOU can't understand such realities; you can't know what I know. However, you prove my point when you confess your ignorance in this matter.

Lastly, I don't have to have ascended to Woods' level to comment on his behavior any more than you need to have been the CEO of a major corporation to comment on Wal-Mart or a forester to comment on the destruction of rainforest.

Alex,
Yeah, if she made those two gimmes she would have closed to within 1 shot of Ochoa and then who knows. Ochoa hasn't been the closer throughout her career. OK, choking is too harsh, but then when have you seen Paula miss two puts of about 2' in the back nine on Sunday?

Chris in your blog, you compare Tiger skippping this event to the Mavs getting a pass into the second round of the NBA playoffs. I don't believe this is the only comparison that can be made. Look at the NFL where the teams who perform the best throughout the season are rewarded with a week off. Couldn't this also be a fair comparison? I agree though, that Tiger should have been more forthright about his reasons for skipping.

Hi everyone do check out this article.

Why the tour should be happy Woods isn't playing this week

By Ron Sirak
GolfDigest.com

I like his take on the issue