How Tiger Woods made the wrong kind of news at an innocent charity event

“It’s OK, at least nobody’s watching,” Tiger Woods said facetiously to a military veteran as the amateur hit what was probably the most nerve-wracking short wedge shot of his life.

There is only one person in the history of golf who could make a little charity pitching contest the biggest story in the game the morning after The Players Championship. This was not some insipid edition of The Players, either. The No. 1 player in the world re-affirmed his place as the best in the game with a dominant performance and the PGA Tour lost the course and greens in a way we never see them do, resulting in carnage and furious outcries from the pros. It was quite a weekend at TPC Sawgrass.

But there was Tiger, about 15 hours after Day had lifted the trophy in Florida, dumping three simple wedge shots into the water and sucking all the oxygen out of everything else that happened in golf. It was just a little pitch, slightly over 100 yards. A motion that Tiger has made millions of times in his life and a shot that we, for whatever reason, still might think should drop on top of the flagstick and not into the water.

Time and circumstance, of course, are why this became such a story. We have no idea what’s left of Tiger. That’s been the seesaw since 2013, his last run of success, his last relatively healthy year, and maybe the last time we wouldn’t much care about the impact of or how he looks in some silly little pitching contest. This is a time when we dissect a soft 9-iron in his home simulator, or a couple drives at a junior clinic, or a few pitching wedges on a Monday in May. He was just there for a quick Q&A but now they’re talking on the Golf Channel about what these swings mean for the rest of his career, let alone the U.S. Open in a month. Any full or half swing near, around, or on some approximation of a golf course is a morsel enough to feast on for days. We need to know what’s there, what’s left.

Standing there on the tee, you could not help but feel sympathy for Tiger. Here he is doing what is supposed to be some promotion for his foundation’s event and military veterans. That’s what the point of this gathering was, not to make news for booting a few stiff wedge shots that prompt some of the more manic reactions about what those wedge swings mean for the rest of your season, and even career. There should have been no ignominy in this short event.

The promotion meant Tiger had to deal with the annoying part, answering questions from the media. And he took them -- the usual ones about his health and Jack’s record and when he’ll be back -- while his eyes repeatedly wandered off to the sky as they came at him. It’s part of the job, one he’s done for so long but less and less in recent months. He doesn’t want to be there for that part, but he takes care of it. That was supposed to be the only light lifting of the morning, but he figures he’ll take a couple soft wedge shots -- he’s able to do that now. Then three go in the water, and he knows he’s made news at this supposedly harmless charity promotion.

When the first one went in the water, the crowd laughed it off with Tiger, even if it was uncomfortable. When the second one went in, it got a little awkward. When the third splashed, it just got glum, the proceedings closed and everyone shuffled off in their different directions.

Tiger also doesn’t seem to know exactly what’s there and what’s left, and possibly what he even wants. In December, he showed up at another event he and his foundation host, delivering the most somber press conference of his career. “I think pretty much everything beyond this [14 majors and 79 PGA Tour wins] will be gravy,” he said. “If that’s all it entails then I’ve had a pretty good run.” But then on Monday at Congressional, he picked back up the old refrain of chasing down Jack Nicklaus’ “still attainable” majors record.

Woods came to the 10th tee cold, tight, and expecting to just pop a couple wedges from 100 yards. He said he was stiff on the first one, but as soon as it went down, there was that kind of “f**k this, gimme another ball and I’m going to stuff it” reaction you’d expect from the most maniacal competitor in the history of golf. But then when the second one went in the water, he’d had enough and was ready wrap it up and move on. Only this time the emcee of his event insisted and tossed a third ball that Tiger did not seem overly thrilled about coming his way. The change was noticeable, from demanding another ball to then being cajoled along by a bystander.

The response had shifted distinctly from the first water ball, and it wasn’t the same progression as “any more wins are gravy” to Jack’s record is still attainable. The internal push and pull he’s dealing with right now was evident in a couple different ways on Monday morning. Unfortunately for Tiger, everyone was watching.