Tiger Woods Commits “Major” Breach Of Golf Etiquette With Ex-President Clinton

In this excerpt from the new Tiger Woods book, Woods and ex-President Bill Clinton had a most uncomfortable exchange on and off the golf course.  This was back in 2006 when Woods actively recruited Clinton’s star power to help promote the new Tiger Woods Foundation in Southern California.

“He was really obnoxious,” said one observer. “It was so clear to me that day who Tiger really was. I’ve never seen President Clinton more put off by a person than that experience.”

Let’s just say the entire encounter didn’t go well–at all. In fact, it appears Woods was the immature culprit committing a “major” breach of etiquette with the former POTUS. GolfDigest.com posts the curious interraction. It’s a real head-scratcher since Woods needed and strongly recruited Clinton to promote the Foundation. But then, Tiger didn’t usually have to beg anyone to do anything he wished.

Woods declining to attend a 1997 ceremony honoring the late Jackie Robinson, sparking a schism between Clinton and Woods that was later widened by a subsequent Ryder Cup incident in which Clinton walked into the U.S. team’s locker room only to see Tiger walk out. Later, Woods refused to have his picture taken with Clinton when the victorious American team visited the White House. For these reasons, Tiger was sure Clinton would never go for it. The ex-president, he insisted, hated him. Woods never let a slight go, and he assumed Clinton operated the same way.

However, after much wrangling, the former president’s people came back and said Clinton would be amenable to an appearance under certain conditions: Tiger had to personally call and make the request; as an ice-breaker, Clinton wanted to play a round of golf with Woods in Orange County when he came out for the event; and he needed a private plane to travel to the West Coast.

After several moments of whining, Tiger got over his reluctance and made the call. A gracious Clinton put him at ease, and the event and golf game were scheduled. Wasserman had already agreed to provide a private plane, so the deal was done.

“Wow, that was easy,” Woods told everyone after hanging up.

Tiger was having breakfast with McLaughlin in the clubhouse when Tellum and Wasserman approached. At that point, Woods had never met either man. Dispensing with introductions, Tiger wanted to know if the president had arrived. When told Clinton was on his way, Woods replied with a straight face, “I can’t wait to talk about p—-.”

The situation got even more awkward after Clinton arrived. Tiger’s behavior did nothing to bridge the gap between him and Clinton. At the outset, Clinton started carrying on, monopolizing the conversation, as he was known to do, before Woods interrupted and said, “How do you remember all that shit?” Once they got onto the course, Tiger acted completely indifferent to the entire group, mostly riding alone in his cart and spending an inordinate amount of time on his phone. After finishing a hole, he would routinely exit the green while others were still putting, a major breach of golf etiquette. When the president hit a wayward drive, Woods snickered. He also told a series of off-color jokes.

“He was really obnoxious,” said one observer. “It was so clear to me that day who Tiger really was. I’ve never seen the president more put off by a person than that experience.”

As Woods attempts to reshape his public personal, these uncomplimentary stories will be painful reminders of his younger self. And sadly, if Tiger begins winning again, his fans won’t care one bit.