Tiger Woods pays a little, wins a lot
You think anyone will put a final group that includes Tiger Woods on the clock anytime soon?
Last Sunday, with Woods trailing Padraig Harrington by 1 stroke at the Bridgestone Invitational, a PGA Tour official put the two on the clock.
That means his group was being told to pick up the pace or else; they reportedly were 17 minutes behind the second-to-last group. They weren’t slowing anyone down, they only had 3 holes left, and it was a close match.
There are rules, such as stay with the group ahead of you, and then there is the spirit of those rules, such as don’t slow down the group behind you and disrupt their rhythm. Woods was reportedly fined for his complaint to the media.
My take … Woods has done players a favor by openly complaining about the move of the tour official. Rest assured it won’t happen, at least for a while … as in, go ahead, Tiger, take your time. Oh, you playing with Tiger? Same for you.
And it only cost a bit of money.
My conspiracy theory is that Woods asked Harrington if he felt the warning was justified or necessary, when Harrington said no, Woods said he’d take the heat (and the fine) because he carries more weight (and, oh yeah, he won). If Harrington complains, and Woods knows this, Harrington will be viewed negatively.
Rather than risk that, Woods gets the point across with the most powerful sportsman in the world doing the talking.
– Zachary Baehr
