Tiger Woods Taunted During Masters Opening

Tiger Woods at the 2010 Masters Tournament – Augusta National.

Staff Reports

The Masters 2010 from Augusta National will be one of the most watched golf tournaments ever. Thousands have flocked to Augusta while others are tuning in to television to see what will take place as Tiger Woods returns from his self-imposed hiatus. There were plenty of cheers for Woods in spite of the scandal over his marital infidelities.

For Tiger, the pre-tournament events began with a whirlwind week of press conferences, new ads with sponsors, and yet another woman added to his long list of alleged mistresses.

But, amidst all the tight security and the safe havens for the
golfers, what officials did not anticipate was a small plane flying
overhead pulling a banner with a catty wordplay on Tiger’s faith. The
banner reading “Tiger: Did You Mean Bootyism?” referred to the star’s
professed Buddhism. Said a commentator at the Master’s, “We looked up
and saw the banner, and realized Tiger got punked.”

Meanwhile, Nike debuted its new Tiger Woods commercial that many
are calling nothing short of creepy. The 30-second ad features a mute
Woods listening to his dead father’s voice “chastising” him from beyond
the grave. Earl Woods, who died in 2006, tells his son, “Tiger, I am
more prone to be inquisitive. I want to find out what your thinking was;
I want to find out what your feelings are.” Later, he asks him, “And
did you learn anything,” as Woods is seen on the verge of tears. The ad
concludes with the Nike sign. Huh?

Augusta National chairman Bill Payne also hypocritically blasted
Woods’s infidelity, lamenting, “Our hero did not live up to the
expectations of the role model we saw for our children.” As Jason
Whitlock of the Kansas City Star noted, until the early 1990s, the
mixed-race Woods could not have joined the staunchly all-white club,
which still bars women. Wrote Whitlock, “You can’t preach ethics and
morality from Payne’s bully pulpit.”

But despite all the hoopla and strange commercials, most patrons
were eager to get a look at Woods in comeback mode. There were a handful
of boos from the gallery after Tiger hit his tee shot, but it was a
great tee ball—down the middle and long—and the crowd reaction was
mostly applause.

The Masters runs from April 8-11.