Tiger, Don't Come to SC; More Bad Timing

I'm beginning to think that I'm spending too much time following the Tiger Woods saga. It's kind of hard to avoid with it dominating most of the cable news cycles and celebrity and sports websites. Plus, I'm a huge Tiger Woods fan. He's the reason I began following golf and why I've spent many a Sunday afternoon stretched out on the couch watching the last round of a PGA tournament. In 2002, after I graduated college, I was hired by a magazine publisher in Augusta, Georgia. We published the annual Masters Tournament guide, so I learned more about golf--and Tiger--than I ever thought I'd care to know. But we've all come to realize that we didn't really know Tiger.

I'm not here to cast aspersions on Tiger Woods (though I've cracked a joke or two on Facebook), but I'm here to warn Tiger not to come to South Carolina this weekend. Several gossip websites, led by TMZ, are reporting that Tiger's best friend Bryon Bell is getting married this weekend in SC and Tiger is the best man. Obviously, these wedding plans were set into motion long before Tiger's sex scandal broke and a new alleged mistress started appearing every 1.5 days. In normal circumstances, I would've been all gung ho about the greatest golfer ever and most famous athlete on the planet visiting my home state.


But these aren't normal circumstances. And I seriously doubt that Tiger will keep his commitment to serve as best man. I mean really, what kind of toast would he give to the bride and groom? Besides, Bell might not want him there since he himself has been linked to the scandal as emails have surfaced of him making travel arrangements for one of Tiger's alleged mistresses. And it doesn't look good if a guy who's scheduled to be married is serving as the wing man for a married man to cheat.

This wedding is not good timing for Tiger because he's not ready to show his face (literally). Also bad timing is the January 2010 issue of Golf Digest. The leading golf mag has Tiger Woods on the cover with President Barack Obama, with the headline: "10 Tips Obama Can Take From Tiger." I bet Michelle Obama picked up a copy and was like "Oh hell no!"


Except this magazine issue had gone to press before Tiger crashed his car into a tree (and a bunch of ladies fell out). I write for magazines so I know how monthly mags have ridiculously long lead times (I've often said that if this print medium plans to survive it must find a way to shorten it), and this is one of the most unfortunate examples I've seen. Though the issue could turn out to be a big seller.

Better yet, what if Tiger did come to South Carolina this weekend? He could take that opportunity to meet with Governor Mark Sanford.