Tiger Woods savages Golf Digest magazine for printing 'below the belt' parody interview

show ad

The library book that saved my life: Student shows off pages that stopped Florida gunman's bullets - as Christian lawyer alum is revealed as shooter
'Bang, you're dead': Heartbroken teen who killed friends in school cafeteria shooting spree sent them a text with a picture of a gun before murdering them
Livid GOP governors threaten legal action over Obama's immigration executive order being announced tonight
Wal-Mart tricked into selling $400 PlayStation 4 consoles for just $90 after customers take advantage of loophole in price match promotion
Jordan's Queen Rania in powerful attack on ISIS for 'hijacking' the Arab world with horror beheadings on social media that 'drag us back to the Dark Ages'
Bode Miller's 'wife implies his son's mother fished condom out of trash to get pregnant' days after settlement in bitter custody battle
Shocking moment a sheriff's deputy knocked out teen girl while trying to break up high school fight - and made the brawl even worse
U2 frontman Bono faces five-hour surgery on facial fractures, broken arm and shattered shoulder from 'high energy' bike accident
Country star Ty Herndon, 52, comes out as gay and reveals he has a partner of five years
Actor who appeared as Somali pirate in Tom Hanks blockbuster Captain Phillips is jailed for vicious assault in Britain which left man brain-damaged
Principal suspended over unannounced school shooting 'drill' which saw frightened students and staff running for cover
Any old wedding dress will do! Jilted husband's 101 ingenious ways to use his ex-wife's marriage gown
Battle of the sexes in SPACE: Nasa studies medical records to discover which gender fares better in zero-gravity conditions
Sugar doesn't just make you fat - it can also trigger depression, anxiety and stress
Are we set for another ASH CLOUD crisis? Volcanic material could travel across the entire Atlantic Ocean, study claims
Android Lollipop makes devices 'unusable': Users are reporting serious faults when upgrading to the latest software
Keep on digging: Buffalo braces for three MORE feet of snow - bringing the week's total to EIGHT - as scores remain trapped
Revealed: Off-duty St. Louis cop who killed black teen by shooting him six times from behind - and had previously ranted about how Michelle Obama looks 'high and dumb'
Jose Canseco's finger did NOT fall off at poker tournament and plan to sell limb on eBay was a JOKE, infamous slugger admits
Let's build a moat around the White House! One congressman's answer to series of security breaches at the president's house is positively medieval
Pentagon tried to pay ransom to win the release of Bowe Bergdahl - but was duped by a con man, claims Congressman
Spanish aristocracy gather to mourn the loss of flamboyant billionaire the Duchess of Alba, who died at her home today aged 88 after battling pneumonia
JetBlue cuts legroom on planes and becomes latest airline to charge fees for checked baggage
Disney has sold THREE MILLION Frozen dressed for $150m

Woods lashed out at article in latest issue of Golf Digest magazine
Was entitled My (Fake) Interview With Tiger* - but still drew player's anger
In the piece a parody Woods talks about firing people and not paying tips
Also says that he should be slots 1-5 in history's five best golfers
Woods hit out at the portrayal as 'some jerk' who does not resemble him

Published: 01:48 EST, 19 November 2014 | Updated: 09:10 EST, 19 November 2014

View
comments

Not happy: Tiger Woods criticized Golf Digest for running the faked interview

Tiger Woods has lashed out at a golf magazine which published a 'below the belt' fake interview with him.

Woods described the parody piece in Golf Digest - which featured photographs of a professional lookalike - as a 'grudge-fueled piece of character assassination'.

In the piece an outlandish parody of the champion golfer plays up to his worst stereotypes - and says the five best golfers of all time are all him.

The article - entitled My (Fake) Interview With Tiger*, with the subtitle '(Or how it plays out in my mind) was written by respected golf journalist Dan Jenkins for the magazine's December 2014 issue.

It includes segments where the fake voice of Woods waxes lyrical about his love of firing everybody close to him, and seems to have no idea who his longtime friend and ally Mark O'Meera even is.

The comedy persona also takes on Woods's reputation for being a lousy tipper, and suggests waiters should 'get a better job'.

Towards the end of the interview, pseudo-Woods also takes the unusual step of naming himself as all five entries in a list of the best golfers of all time.

The character said: 'I rank me at Pebble Beach in 2000 first, me in the '97 Masters second, me at St. Andrews in 2000 third, me at Hoylake in 2006 fourth, and me at Bay Hill, Firestone, Memorial and Torrey fifth ... pick a year.'

However, the real Tiger Woods failed to see the funny side of the piece, and tried to get even writing a blog post attacking Golf Digest's journalism.

He began: 'Did you read Dan Jenkins’ interview with me in the latest Golf Digest? I hope not.

'Because it wasn’t me. It was some jerk he created to pretend he was talking to me.'

He continued: 'All athletes know that we will be under scrutiny from the media. But this concocted article was below the belt.

'Good-natured satire is one thing, but no fair-minded writer would put someone in the position of having to publicly deny that he mistreats his friends, takes pleasure in firing people, and stiffs on tips- and a lot of other slurs, too.'

Woods added that he and his agent have written to Golf Digest demanding an explanation - though editors of the magazine have already responded by reiterating that their article is a clearly-marked parody.