 It seemed like Tiger Woods was trying to have a nice little ($5.75 million purse) event to end the year and all Hell broke loose. Kind of.
Tiger hosts this event called the 'Target World Challenge' and its an invitation-only event for the top 16 players in the world. In my opinion it allows golf fans to get one last glimpse at the best of 2007 while also doubling as a major charity event for The Tiger Woods Foundation. It really seems like a win-win situation for everyone involved. Every player wins some cash, it's played in California, the caddies get to wear shorts, the fans get to see good golf and more times than not, Tiger wins, as he did this time.....That wasn't where the drama lied though.
There are very few players on the PGA Tour who will speak out against Tiger, but one of them happens to be Rory Sabbatini, and Sabbatini was invited and played in this event....at least until the Final Round:
In a move that left players shaking their head, Sabbatini
withdrew from the final round of the Target World Challenge on
Sunday citing "personal reasons," the first player in the
nine-year history of the event to leave early. Sabbatini still received $170,000. He was in last place heading
into the final round, 28 shots behind. His agent, Bud Martin, said Sabbatini told him he withdrew
because of shin splints. "He had shin splints that were bothering him yesterday,"
Martin said after talking to Sabbatini on Sunday morning. "He went
home overnight and worked on them with his trainer, and they
weren't getting any better. He said he wasn't going to risk it."
Shin splints? Shin splints?! Really? I've never had shin splints, but if someone is pretty much giving me $170,000 to walk around the golf course, I think I can gut it out. Needless to say Tiger was not happy. Woods, the tournament host, shook his head when asked about
Sabbatini on his way to the practice range. After winning by seven
shots, he said he was trying to sort through conflicting reports. "I've heard he had shin splints," Woods said. "I heard he
pulled out for personal reason. He packed his locker up at 3
o'clock yesterday, I think headed to Hawaii. A lot of different
things going on. And I'd like to try and get to the bottom of it
when I'm done here, and we'll see what happens." Later, he was asked if he minded that Sabbatini left, and a cold
stare spoke volumes.
Yeah, you can bet Tiger is going to get to the bottom of it and Sabbatini is going to pay, in one form or another, for it. Just like Michael Jordan shutting Isiah Thomas out of the Dream Team after Isiah 'froze him out' of the All-Star Game when he was young, Tiger will have his revenge...and the final word. You don't want to poke the Tiger because you won't like the consequences.
Leave a comment
|
2008 Cubs Preview
Shin splints? What a puss.
I ran in a 5k on Saturday with a few friends. One of my friends had shin splints and still ran the race, in 20° temperatures and 3 inches of snow. He still came in 4th place.
I guess you have to expect this out of someone named Rory.
So I guess that means that pancakes > $165,000?
What a worthless excuse. I've had those before and while they can be a little painful when engaged in full activity they aren't that bad. The guy is walking on grass in this event. No way those bother him that bad to withdraw. Tiger should have let Rory ride in a cart the last round just to not let him get away with a piss poor excuse.
oh man, i bet if tiger knew ahead of time he would. Could you imagine that coverage on NBC? Here comes Rory down the 17th fairway....with a cart? You have to keep those on the cart path, buddy. That would be very embarrassing.
That is like your wife making you invite you dick head obnoxious neighbor to your xmas party to be nice. He walks in, grabs a plate full of food, steals a six pack out of your fridge, and then grabs a random present from underneath you christmas tree and walks out...