Eight days after he jokingly insulted hockey players and fans by saying, "I don't think anybody really watches hockey any more," Woods clarified the statement he made while taking part in a news conference via satellite at Oakland Hills on June 2.
"Oh, yeah, I've gotten a lot of grief over that," Woods said Tuesday at Torrey Pines. "I love the sport. I love watching it, but I don't like watching it on TV. In person it's absolutely incredible, what they're able to do and what they can do. TV doesn't do justice to that. But then neither does -- a lot of sports are the same way.
"It is what it is. I said what I said, and I was trying to be funny about it, but people didn't perceive it that way."
GOTTA LOVE IT: Phil Mickelson jousted with the U.S. Golf Association last year over the difficult setup at Oakmont that he said led to a wrist injury and his subsequent missed cut. On Tuesday, Mickelson made nice with the USGA right from the start of his opening comments.
"I think the course is going to give the players a difficult test, but I think that it's a fair test," Mickelson said of Torrey Pines, where he played high school matches and twice won the Buick Invitational. "I think it's the best setup I've ever seen for a U.S. Open. And for me personally, this tournament means a lot to me growing up here. And to see it set up like this and so beautiful, it's exciting."
Mickelson has been a hard-luck loser in the Open with runner-up finishes in 2006, '04, '02 and 1999. Yet, he still cherishes the tournament.
"Well, I love it," he said. "I just haven't gotten the love back."
TEED OFF: Mickelson threw one punch -- make that a haymaker -- at the USGA, saying that the new tee box the USGA installed on the par-five 13th hole is "terrible."
"It's the biggest waste of money that I've ever seen," he said.
The new tee stretches the hole to 614 yards and, from that distance to an elevated green, Mickelson said the green is impossible to reach in two shots. That means there is no strategy involved other than laying up.
"So there's no opportunity for a longer player to take advantage of his length," he said. "There's no opportunity for a guy who strikes it straighter to take advantage of his skill. And there's no opportunity for a guy who wants to take a little bit of risk and try to get it by the green and be rewarded. So it's just a terrible tee box."
Backtrack time: Tiger Woods says he does like hockey after all
Eight days after he jokingly insulted hockey players and fans by saying, "I don't think anybody really watches hockey any more," Woods clarified the statement he made while taking part in a news conference via satellite at Oakland Hills on June 2.
"Oh, yeah, I've gotten a lot of grief over that," Woods said Tuesday at Torrey Pines. "I love the sport. I love watching it, but I don't like watching it on TV. In person it's absolutely incredible, what they're able to do and what they can do. TV doesn't do justice to that. But then neither does -- a lot of sports are the same way.
"It is what it is. I said what I said, and I was trying to be funny about it, but people didn't perceive it that way."
GOTTA LOVE IT: Phil Mickelson jousted with the U.S. Golf Association last year over the difficult setup at Oakmont that he said led to a wrist injury and his subsequent missed cut. On Tuesday, Mickelson made nice with the USGA right from the start of his opening comments.
"I think the course is going to give the players a difficult test, but I think that it's a fair test," Mickelson said of Torrey Pines, where he played high school matches and twice won the Buick Invitational. "I think it's the best setup I've ever seen for a U.S. Open. And for me personally, this tournament means a lot to me growing up here. And to see it set up like this and so beautiful, it's exciting."
Mickelson has been a hard-luck loser in the Open with runner-up finishes in 2006, '04, '02 and 1999. Yet, he still cherishes the tournament.
"Well, I love it," he said. "I just haven't gotten the love back."
TEED OFF: Mickelson threw one punch -- make that a haymaker -- at the USGA, saying that the new tee box the USGA installed on the par-five 13th hole is "terrible."
"It's the biggest waste of money that I've ever seen," he said.
The new tee stretches the hole to 614 yards and, from that distance to an elevated green, Mickelson said the green is impossible to reach in two shots. That means there is no strategy involved other than laying up.
"So there's no opportunity for a longer player to take advantage of his length," he said. "There's no opportunity for a guy who strikes it straighter to take advantage of his skill. And there's no opportunity for a guy who wants to take a little bit of risk and try to get it by the green and be rewarded. So it's just a terrible tee box."
