On Golf: Woods not fine with silence

CHASKA, Minn.

Tiger Woods seemingly has stared down the PGA Tour. Golf’s sultan rarely takes a strident stance on controversial subjects by design because life as the world’s most famous athlete is already scrutinized enough. Much to the chagrin of outspoken former athletes like Jim Brown, the 33-year-old Woods has a long-standing policy of avoiding social and political hot-button issues.

When it comes to his own domain, however, Woods clearly is willing to do more than just walk softly and carry a big stick.

Just 24 hours after the Associated Press reported that Woods would be fined for criticizing rules official John Paramor in the wake of his victory at the Bridgestone International, Woods stated Tuesday that no fine was forthcoming.

“I’ve heard from the tour, and there’s no fine,” said Woods, who is in search of his first major victory of the season at this week’s PGA Championship at Hazeltine National outside Minneapolis. “That was an erroneous report.”

Perhaps. It’s possible that one of the most reliable reporters in the business (the Associated Press’ Doug Ferguson) was burned by a source within the tour office who overstepped his bounds. The tour certainly wants everyone to think that’s the case.

“There has been no process started with respect to any disciplinary action,” said Ty Votaw, the tour’s executive vice president of communications. “[PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem] was surprised when he read the article. Based on the reports he read, Tiger’s comments related to the impact of the [rules] decision, and we did not read them as being an unreasonable attack or disparaging.”

Really? Woods certainly left no room for ambiguity by reiterating his points Tuesday. Paramor deemed that Woods and Padraig Harrington were out of position during their riveting duel in the final pairing at Firestone on Sunday. With Harrington leading by one stroke, Paramor informed the duo on the 16th tee that they were being put on the clock.

That means each player is given 45 seconds to hit each shot once he is deemed to be at his ball and away. A player is allowed to exceed that limit once after a warning before he can be assessed a one-stroke penalty.

A slowish player at the best of times, Harrington was ruffled by the decision, lost his focus and rushed to a drama-sapping triple-bogey. The three-time major champion was infuriated by Paramor’s decision but admitted he failed to deal with the disruption to his concentration.

“I reacted poorly to the situation, and that’s my own fault,” said Harrington, who holds the Wanamaker Trophy after last year’s victory at Oakland Hills. “I got knocked out of the zone on No. 16, and that’s something that I have to be very mindful of moving forward.”

Again coming to the Irishman’s defense, Tiger clearly placed the blame for Firestone’s anticlimactic finish at Paramor’s feet.

“We were having such a great battle going head-to-head like that, and it got influenced from outside,” said Woods, who birdied the 16th with a majestic 8-iron approach to a foot en route to a four-stroke victory. “When we were put on the clock, it changed everything. It certainly affected how Paddy played the hole.

“I thought they would have used better judgment. … It certainly influenced us in how we played and influenced the outcome of the tournament, which is not how you want to have a tournament come to an end.”

Asked whether he regretted singling out Paramor, Woods immediately responded, “No, because he’s the one who [made the decision].”

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