Tiger Woods made his triumphant return to professional golf last month when he played in the 2022 Masters Tournament one year after a car crash. Now, the iconic golfer is preparing to play in the PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Woods played a practice round on Thursday that caused some to criticize the situation because of who he played the round with.
Cary Cozby, the director of golf at Southern Hills Country Club, caddied for Woods during his practice round for the PGA Championship on Thursday, providing some insight on the course.
Tips for #TigerWoods from Southern Hills Director of Golf Cary Cozby pic.twitter.com/dY5RAc0jvZ
— Ken MacLeod (@okgolf2) April 28, 2022
He shared some thoughts on what it’s like to walk a golf course with Tiger Woods with USA Today.“It’s amazing what he has to deal with on a daily basis,” Cozby said. “He came through the gate. He didn’t even come to the clubhouse because he knew what he’d have to deal with and went straight to the range. They sent a text said, ‘Hey, we’re on the practice tee. I’ll meet you on the first tee.’ And of course, our clubhouse is open so we probably had 20 people, the patio, the golf shop’s right off the first tee. So there were probably 20 members that slipped out there to watch him. He didn’t look up, hit his shot. Second hole, there’s a helicopter. Fourth hole, there’s 50 to 70 people up on the hill overlooking that hole. And by the time we get to six there’s 30 to 40 people in the trees across the street with television cameras and phones and pictures, and [saying] ‘We love you, Tiger. Go get ’em, Tiger. Great shot, Tiger.’ Just amazing.”
However, not everyone found it charming to see Woods and the director of the golf course hanging out before the PGA Championship. One person on Twitter noted that this could be seen as special treatment and providing an unfair advantage that other golfers won’t have.
I wonder what it’s like to have the Director of Golf at Southern Hills give you ALL the course notes you need for the upcoming @PGAChampionship Do all players get this treatment @PGA? For @TigerWoods this is just embarrassing that @PGA posted this photo & it’s very telling. pic.twitter.com/TAf3siYsHO
— GolfFACTS (@useGolfFACTS) May 1, 2022
“I wonder what it’s like to have the Director of Golf at Southern Hills give you ALL the course notes you need for the upcoming @PGAChampionship Do all players get this treatment @PGA ? For @TigerWoods this is just embarrassing that @PGA posted this photo & it’s very telling,” the Twitter account @GolfFACTS tweeted.
While that might just be one random person’s opinion, there are some who believe the Twitter account is connected to the family of another professional golfer, Patrick Reed.
It’s been well documented by @NoLayingUp. After he took that bad drop earlier this year and Rory was excused of doing the same the account angrily tweeted Patty was being unfairly treated. There’s multiple examples it’s his wife which is EMBARRASSING @useGolfFACTS
— Dave Propst (@DaPropster) May 1, 2022
Not everyone is convinced that this practice round does anything for Tiger that he wouldn’t have been able to figure out anyway given his experience and talent.
Dude it's not the nuclear codes. Any player can get tips from anybody else. Tiger often takes young guys around Augusta in practice rounds to show them where to hit it. Relax. https://t.co/V77KGhL6hK
— Rick Reilly (@ReillyRick) May 1, 2022
The 2022 PGA Championship begins on May 19 so we’ll have to keep an eye on how Woods and Reed perform and if this comes back around.
