Tiger takes Toronto
To promote the new American Express credit card bearing his name and image, Tiger Woods, the world's No. 1 golfer, took time off his busy schedule to come to Canada. Woods showed up in Toronto's Olympic Island for a clinic looking cool in his customary Nike outfit, but without his golf shoes. Why, by the shots he was able to hit in dress shoes, he can probably win a few tournaments wearing them.
This may be sweeping generalization, but we Canadians tend to be conscious of what others think of us. It's a big deal if someone as famous as Woods shows up, even only for a corporate-run clinic ('Yay, Tiger loves us!'). Given that this may have been his only appearance of the year in Canada-he has never played in Air Canada Championship and was noncommittal when asked about the possibility of playing in the Bell Canadian Open-the fans (mostly American Express card holders who were given free passes to the clinic) were that much more excited to get a glimpse of Tiger.
Woods demonstrated his amazing skills, seemingly at ease with 300-yard drives as well as 80-yard wedge shots. The pleasant morning ended with Woods being presented with a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey that had his name and number 01 on the back. Moments earlier, he tried to hit a tee shot with a hockey stick, which was secretly placed in his bag with a head cover. Such disguise made Tiger think it was "my driver on Viagra." Hey, weren't there any children around???
Apparently, Woods' donning of the Leafs sweater and his "Go Leafs Go!" chant didn't do much for the hockey team itself, which on Tuesday bowed out to the Carolina Hurricanes in six games in the NHL's Eastern Conference finals. Personally, it's almost a blessing in disguise that the Leafs won't play in the Stanley Cup Finals because now I won't have to worry about the Leafs games overlapping with the U.S. Open and its postgame coverage. Seeing that this space is meant for golf, not some hockey rant, I should stop about here.
Some of the questions asked at the morning's press conference bordered on silly. From "Can I call you dude?" ("Sure, why not?") to "Have you ever worn the same thing twice?" ("Yup.") to "Do you use your credit card when you order a pizza?" ("I think I can afford 10 bucks in cash.") Had I been there, I would have asked him some remotely golf-related questions, such as his expectations going into the U.S. Open, his new Nike driver and when he's finally going to switch to new Nike irons.
Latest Articles