Tiger Woods issued another one of his “I’m kind of sorry, but not really, gimme a break” apologies on Thursday when he conceded he should not have taken frustrations over his poor play at Augusta out on his poor, defenseless 9-iron.
“One thing I would like to say about the Masters last week is that obviously I got frustrated at times and know some of my actions were wrong, especially at No. 16,” Woods wrote on his website. “The Masters means a lot to me, and I was trying as hard as I could. I'm out there competing. I grind every day, and my expectations are to do my best. It's very disappointing when that doesn't happen.”
Woods, who had already offered a lame mea culpa for his actions during the second round of last week’s tourney at Augusta National, heard it from all corners after he angrily kicked the short club following an errant tee shot on the par-3 16th. This time around, he provided the additional rationale for his unsportsmanlike conduct, which earned him scorn from even his most fervent backers.
"Tiger's antics this week were an embarrassment to the game, to the membership at Augusta. I was really disappointed to see him carry on that way,” 2008 Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger said Monday on Sirius XM Mad Dog Radio (by way of the New York Daily News’ Hank Gola). “He's not trying to endear himself to anybody. And after he won Bay Hill I thought, 'Here we go again, this is going to be Tiger just kicking butt and taking names.'
“I don't know,” Azinger added. “I thought he acted like the south end of a northbound mule."
Whether the top or bottom half of said ass shows up, Woods also announced some additions to his 2012 schedule. The world’s eighth-ranked golfer said he would play in next month’s Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C., as well as The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
Tiger noted as well that his work with swing coach Sean Foley continues, he needs more “reps,” he likes to win, his putting at Augusta “felt very solid,” the fans at Augusta were “fantastic,” and, oh, yeah, way to go, champ.
“Congratulations to Bubba Watson for winning,” said Woods, who added an irrelevant personal note. “We used to play a lot of practice rounds together.”
As for his boss’ half-hearted apology, Woods’ 9-iron was unavailable for comment.