Paul Azinger usually has no problem speaking his mind and he decided to go where few have gone publicly since Tiger Woods’ DUI arrest. The Ryder Cup captain appeared on FOX Sports 1’s “The Herd” to discuss the U.S. Open pairings, where the conversation inevitably turned to Woods recent troubles. Around the 8:00 mark, host Jason Whitlock ask Azinger if he and others were surprised by the 14-time major winner’s arrest. And then it got real.
“I know firsthand there are some players that think there’s a problem there with Tiger,” Azinger said. “I don’t, I haven’t been around him much the last few years. But there are some players out there that are saying this has been a problem for a while.”
Azinger continued, “He’s had a lot of back surgeries, he’s had knee surgeries, he’s had an Achilles’ issue. He’s had a lot of pain. It would be easy for Tiger to get hooked on that, that very addictive drug, if he’s hooked on it. I hope he’s not.”
Paul Azinger did not sugar coat these remarks on Tiger: https://t.co/8zOA5yqNuN pic.twitter.com/GjSYLsEqkl
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) June 9, 2017
In Woods’ statement after the incident, he explained it was an unexpected reaction to the prescribed pain medications. Then on Friday, Golf Channel reported that in addition to the pills he disclosed in the police report, a redacted version stated that he had taken Xanax as well.
“Tiger’s close to a few people. Not many. And the few people that are around Tiger probably know there’s a problem,” Azinger said. “And if they don’t intervene, then it’s on them. But addiction’s a big deal, and if he’s addicted, then somebody better intervene.”
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