Tiger Woods was spotted courtside last month during an NBA playoff game between the Orlando Magic and the Detroit Pistons. He grew up in southern California watching the California Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers, and last August sat behind home plate at Yankee Stadium during a baseball game. He's said that his late father Earl taught him the “nuances” of the game, and that he loves studying baseball.
But hockey? Woods apparently has no interest, as he demonstrated yesterday when Julius Mason, the PGA of America's senior director of communications and media relations asked him about last night's fifth game of the Stanley Cup finals in Detroit.
Mason was at the Oakland Hills Country Club in Birmingham, Mich., site of the PGA Championship in August. Woods is the defending champion, and was participating by satellite in a press conference to promote the season's last major.
“We're joined by about 75 of your closest friends,” Mason said to Woods to open up the discussion with him, “and I think off the top of their head they have one burning question for you, Detroit or Pittsburgh tonight? In the Stanley Cup finals.”
“That's pretty good,” Woods answered, to laughter in the background. “I don' t really care. Let's talk about the Dodgers.”
Mason followed up. “Politically correct as always and that's what we.” Woods cut him off as the good-natured laughter continued.
“I don't think anybody really watches hockey any more,” Woods said.
The discussion then turned to golf, a game with which Woods is rather more familiar.
