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Tiger Woods Fires Back At Dan Jenkins For Satirical Fake Interview, Needs To Lighten Up

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By @Brandon__Raper

Tiger Woods Dan Jenkins

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Despite not having played a competitive tournament since missing the cut at the PGA Championship, nothing moves the needle in the golf world quite like Tiger Woods. He’s been mostly quiet since then, as the PGA Tour became Rory McIlroy‘s playground, but a recently published article in Golf Digest raised Woods’s ire to the point that he felt the need to personally address it.

Columnist Dan Jenkins, a respected writer with over six decades of experience covering golf, penned a column titled “My Interview With Tiger*” for the December issue of Golf Digest. In the article, Jenkins “questions” Woods about his recent poor play, his decision to part ways with swing coaches Butch Harmon, Hank Haney and Sean Foley, and his chase for Jack Nicklaus‘s major championship record.

The article is clearly written with a satirical bent, but it does get a bit personal at times. In this faux-interview, “Woods” says that he “likes to fire people” and can’t remember the name of Mark O’Meara, a long-time member of Woods’s inner circle. Jenkins has never been one to shy away from criticizing Woods when he felt it was necessary, but this one clearly got under Woods’s skin.

In a letter published on Derek Jeter‘s website, The Players’ Tribune, Woods called Jenkins’ column a “grudge-fueled piece of character assassination”, and that Jenkins’ “frustration and resentment” towards Woods shouldn’t give him “a license for an underhanded attack”. Those were about the nicest things Woods had to say.

As a writer, satire is a powerful tool, and Jenkins is skilled enough in his craft to use it deftly. However, it does feel a bit like he took the freedom of creative license and ran with it, perhaps undermining his attempt at humor along the way. While Woods’s team and their response to Conde Nast, the publishing company for Golf Digest, has given Jenkins’ column worldwide attention, it has also put him in the position of becoming the story himself, which is never a good look for a journalist.

For his part, Woods could certainly stand to be a bit more thick-skinned here, too. The words and photos – including “Woods” sitting in a Perkins restaurant, an obvious jab at one of his several admitted affairs – are nothing that hasn’t been written or joked about in any number of forums over the years, and responding in such biting fashion has only led to more exposure for the “offending” article in the first place.

The PGA Tour is on its winter sabbatical until January, and before today, Tiger’s return at his World Challenge event in December was the next big thing to look forward to. It’s unfortunate that more “Woods vs. the media” bickering has to take place. Lighten up, Tiger, and be better than this.

Brandon Raper is the lead golf writer for Rant Sports. “Like” him on Facebook, follow him on Twitter @Brandon__Raper, and join him on Google+.

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