Creepy ad? Woods doesn't think so

AUGUSTA, Ga. – With Tiger Woods only a couple of shots out of the lead at the midpoint of the Masters, there's a chance his take on the strange -- some say creepy -- new Nike TV commercial, the one in which he allegedly is being talked to by his late father, Earl, could get lost in the shuffle going forward.

But Woods, for what it's worth, is proud of it even though Earl's message, lifted from a documentary made several years ago, happened to be directed at his wife Kultida, Tiger's mother, from whom he was separated at the time.

No matter, at least to Woods.

"I think it's very apropos. I think that's what my dad would say," he said about the ad. "It's amazing how it – how my dad can speak to me from different ways, even when he's long gone. He's still helping me."

Then Woods went the populist route: "I think any son who has lost a father . . . who meant do much in their life, I think they would understand the spot."

Well, perhaps. It's all about rebuilding the damaged brand at this point and Woods has been doing very well in that regard here and not only by shooting an opening-round 68, the best first round at Augusta in his career, and following it with a solid three-birdie, one-bogey 70 on a much more difficult day of scoring.

"It feels really good to be in contention," he said, as he always does, noting that Ian Poulter was in the clubhouse two shots ahead and Lee Westwood was out on the course one shot better than that at the time.

Nor did Woods even blink, at least in his public response, to the whacking Augusta National chairman Billy Payne gave him here Wednesday. Woods acknowledged that the two men "did have a conversation" and when asked for his opinion of what Payne said, Woods responded, "I was disappointed in myself, too."

He said "absolutely not" when asked if he had heard even one negative remark from the gallery and that's easy to understand; nobody else heard any, either. Friday;s gallery, too, was much smaller than the throng that went every step with him Thursday.

He also said he didn't see the airplane towing the banners taking shots at him Thursday. (That plane, by the way, was reported to have been grounded Friday for mechanical reasons.) About someone some going to all that trouble and expense to zing him, Woods simply shrugged. "It wouldn't be the first time."

He might have been referring to a banner towed by an airplane at Torrey Pines when he missed that PGA Tour stop. It said something like "Tiger, we miss you" and was from a local strip club.

Comments

[Bruce Robb]

While I have mostly maintained that Tiger's private life is his own business, I did read the Vanity Fair article (we have a subscription) and I have to say, it seems there is a whole other world out there that is completely at odds with the image athletes like Tiger and Michael Jordan present to the public. For Nike (and Tiger) to use a voiceover of Tiger's father for an 'apologetic' commercial is an insult to everyone. This is where Tiger learned his disrespect for women, namely his wife. They must think we're stupid.

[Mark Hillard]

Can we change the subject now please?

[sean]

i agree a person private life is their private life the public has absoulte no reason to know about it. it is not the publics business what somebody does outside of their job. but their is alot of losers that don;t have their lives and need to feel important.

[Don Peters]

Nike has always irritated me with their "edgy"ads and better than everyone else attitude. During the 96 Olympics in Atlanta Nike used 2 slogans to educate the viewing audience:
1. "You don't win a Silver you lose a Gold"
2. "You don't come to the Olympics just to compete"

I've not purchased any of their products since.

[Pat]

It is completely out of context , who cares what he did anyways its between him and his wife its up to her to give him the boot not us...