Tiger: “I have Never Taken an Illegal Drug, Ever”

by Matt Etlinger

Tiger entered the Augusta National Press Conference room smiling, and greeting reporters.  This was nothing like his eery, White House-esque statement he gave back in February.  This was a likable Tiger, a humbled Tiger, and a much more comfortable Tiger.  Tiger was open and honest when talking about the fans at Augusta, his peers on the tour, his use of prescription pain medication, and all golf  and injury related issues.  He still kept things close to the vest when discussing the night of the accident and his rehab experience.  When asked about his expectations for the Masters Tournament, he responded with a smile saying “Nothing’s changed.  I am going to go out there and try to win this thing.”

One of the most interesting things Tiger talked about was his commitment to respecting the game of Golf.  “I am going to try and tone down the negative outbursts.  I want to acknowledge the fans and show my appreciation.”  Tiger conveyed that playing with focus and emotion leads to the signature fist pumps, as well as the club tosses.   The negative behavior however, has been the subject of public critisim from greats such as Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson.

Another issue that came up was his relationship with a Dr. Tony Galea, who is connected to HGH and other performance enhancing drugs.  When asked why he worked with Dr. Galea, Tiger responded saying, ” He had treated other athletes.”

He quickly dismissed his the idea that he was taking PED’s saying “I’ve never taken an illegal drug, ever.  Dr. Galea never gave me HGH or any P.E.D.” Tiger did mention that Dr. Galea performed “platelet rich plasma therapy”, a treatment to heal his knee which he claimed suffered numerous ligament tears after the initial ACL injury.

Tiger also let us under the curtain a bit, talking about his alleged addiction to pain meds, like Vicodin and Ambien  After all, he was found unconscious and snoring at the scene of the accident of November 27th.  When asked about the addiction, Tiger said “I was taking pain meds, with my torn Achilles, it hurt a lot.  I was also on Ambien when my dad died, to help me sleep.”

The two issues that Tiger was uncompromising on were when asked about why Elin wasn’t attending and why exactly he went to rehab.  One of the 150 reporters in attendance asked, “What was the rehab for?” and Tiger answered , “That’s personal, thank you.”  On the issue of why Elin wasn’t at Augusta this week, Tiger quickly responded, “Yes, Elin isn’t here.”

Tiger has a unique challege that with most certainly be conflicting.  How does he be more fan friendly, more respectful of the games, more open to the media, and more humbled.  How can he do all these thinngs while keeping the competitive edge?  That is what will be interesting to see?  Can Tiger win and be a more like Phil Mickelson?  Can he do both?  We will see.