‘Tiger Woods’ book excerpt: With his life in disarray, Tiger roared back at his doubters at the 2010 Masters
Exclusive excerpt from Tiger Woods by Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian. Published by arrangement with Simon & Schuster, Inc. Copyright © 2018 by Jeff Benedict & Associates, LLC and Lights Out Productions, LLC.
The Tiger Woods who returns to Augusta National this month appears to be at peace with himself, a legend past his prime — perhaps — but one with no-quit ferocity. Tiger the fighter showed up at the 2010 Masters, too, when almost every aspect of his life was in disarray. That spring, he emerged from ravaging scandal to mount one of the most astonishing comebacks in a career full of them. In this excerpt from Tiger Woods, their searing new biography of golf’s most blazing talent, Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian tell the story of how Tiger roared back — at his doubters and closest allies, and on the only stage that has ever mattered to him: the course.
The house no longer felt like a home. His wife, Elin, and their children were living elsewhere. Butcher paper covered the windows, preventing anyone — especially tabloid photographers — from seeing inside. Self-help books littered the kitchen counter. It had been nearly four months since the scandal that ruptured Tiger Woods’ life first broke in the National Enquirer the day before Thanksgiving in 2009, and a month since he’d completed in-patient treatment for sex addiction. Now his days consisted of laying low. He was exercising on his own, hitting golf balls by himself, getting most of his meals from the clubhouse at Isleworth — the gated community outside Orlando where he and his once picture-perfect family had, until recently, resided — and going to bed early. He was in marriage counseling. He was also meditating on a daily basis, an attempt to reconnect with his Buddhist roots and get himself in the right mind-frame to work through a very difficult reconciliation process with Elin. I need to do these things, he told himself.
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For so many years, Tiger always had IMG, Nike and his agent Mark Steinberg to take care of everything for him. They told him where he needed to be and they made sure he got there. In the timeslots that weren’t spoken for, Tiger was free to plan and indulge in his clandestine affairs with women. The scenario was both an addict’s dream and a recipe for disaster. After years of lying to others and lying to himself, he emerged from treatment — at age 35 — a changed man, more committed to being honest with himself and the people around him. But he faced a totally unfamiliar situation — for the first time in his life, his time was all his own. He had no tournaments to play in, no commercials to shoot, no appearances to make. His indefinite break from the game was intended to give him time and space to get a firm grip on his addiction, regain control of his personal life and try to salvage his marriage.
Tiger was trying, but he was living in a constant state of shame. Although he wasn’t particularly religious, he viewed his infidelity and the lies he had told to conceal it as “personal sins.” In an attempt to seek redemption, he had confessed to those he had loved most. There was a certain liberating aspect to those grueling private conversations. Conversely, public confessions about personal sins were demoralizing. Even after making his mortifying public apology at Tour headquarters, Tiger was still dogged by journalists in search of skeletons from his past, a past, it was becoming increasingly clear, he would never escape.
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For the length of his pro career, Tiger had remained aloof on the PGA Tour, an almost mystical presence, distancing himself from players, fans and the golf press. The time off from the sport had changed his perspective and helped him realize how much he missed what he had always taken for granted. He also missed the competition. In mid-February 2010, immediately after finishing rehab, he started hitting balls again. Then in early March he resumed working on his game with his coach Hank Haney.
Tiger had spent six years with Haney. During that period he played in 93 PGA tournaments and won 31 times, including six majors. It was a remarkable run, where Tiger won 33 percent of the time. By comparison, in a little over seven years under Butch Harmon, Tiger won nearly 27 percent of the time, winning 34 of the 127 PGA tournaments he entered, including eight majors. Woods and Harmon spent more years together, resulting in more majors. But Woods and Haney had a success rate that was unparalleled in the annals of golf. In that time, he had come to trust Haney more than almost anyone else in his life outside of his family and Mark Steinberg.
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Being on the range with Haney felt like old times — exactly the feeling Tiger was looking for. It made the decision easy. Forget the hiatus. Tiger was returning to the PGA Tour.
On March 16, 2010, he issued a statement announcing he was playing in the Masters the following month. “The Masters is where I won my first major and I view this tournament with great respect,” he said. “After a long and necessary time away from the game, I feel like I’m ready to start my season at Augusta.”
Haney was surprised by the announcement and immediately thought Tiger was coming back way too soon. They had only practiced together for a week prior to deciding to play in the Masters. Tiger was still spraying the ball all over the place. His game was a long way from being tournament ready. Besides being rusty, Tiger looked lost on the golf course, like a man weighted down with the worries of the world.
In Haney’s mind, Tiger was setting himself up for failure. Augusta, after all, was the ultimate stage and the spotlight on him would be brighter than ever. Sean McManus, the president of CBS News and Sports, had predicted that Tiger’s return to professional golf after the scandal would be the biggest media event in the past ten to fifteen years outside of Barack Obama’s inauguration.
But Tiger’s mind was made up. No one knew what it was like to be in his shoes. His life was in ruins, his messy past complicating and dictating his future. The one surefire place where he could establish some normalcy and do something that he felt good about was inside the ropes, even at the risk of alienating Elin, who wanted him to take a much longer hiatus from the game. There, over the course of four days and 72 holes, the rules would be different. In golf, the past is the last hole; the present is the current shot you face; and the future is the one after that. Eager to get back to his comfort zone, Tiger summoned Steve Williams, his steadfast caddie of 11 years, to Isleworth. It was time to get ready to go to Augusta.
When Williams arrived at Tiger’s home on April 3, he had a lot to get off his chest. After the scandal broke, Williams had repeatedly asked Team Tiger to release a statement clearing him of any involvement. Instead he got the silent treatment. Then one mistress, cashing in on her five minutes of fame, insisted she had met both Williams and Tiger in Vegas, creating the inference that Williams had known about Tiger’s adultery and covered it up. This unsubstantiated rumor spun itself into news in Williams’ native New Zealand and soon splashed around the world. In rehab, Woods had finally communicated with Williams in the form of an e-mail, apologizing for his actions. Later, he called Williams’ wife, Kirsty, in an effort to smooth things over at home. But it was too little too late. Kirsty had long considered Elin one of her best friends, and she wasn’t persuaded by Tiger’s words. Meantime, doubts lingered about how much Steve knew. The bottom line was that Tiger’s infidelity had damaged Williams’ reputation in New Zealand and put a strain on his marriage.
Tiger was well aware that he had disappointed Williams. He also knew that it was on him to clear the air with his longtime caddie. But when Williams entered his home, Tiger was preoccupied. After a less than enthusiastic greeting, Tiger said they would talk later. In the meantime, he insisted he had to run out.
This didn’t sit well with Williams. He had a long list of grievances that he wanted to air, and he’d been assured by Steinberg that Tiger would have a face-to-face conversation with him once he got to his house. Frustrated, Williams was in a foul mood hours later when he and Haney joined Tiger for a practice rou