Jenkins & Tiger Squabble

Tiger Woods didn't like an imaginary interview Dan Jenkins wrote of him in the December issue of Golf Digest. Woods was so sore about it that he had his agent, Mark Steinberg, fire off a letter to Conde-Nast, owner of the magazine.

Entitled "My Interview with Tiger" - with an asterisk that reads, "Or how it plays out in my mind," the piece is typical Jenkins: sharpened pencil in hand with tongue firmly in cheek.

The legendary sportswriter, who was named to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2012 in the Lifetime Achievement category, provides the set-up questions in bold that play right into the traits many pundits believe represent Woods - egomania, cheapness as a tipper, fickle friendships, a propensity for injury, etc., etc., etc. In other words - easy fodder for the 84-year-old Jenkins.

The only image in the two-page spread is a PhotoShopped picture of a red-shirted Woods rubbing the front-right corner of a black Escalade.

An obviously miffed Woods wrote a guest column on recently retired Yankee star Derek Jeter's website - www.theplayerstribune.com - in response to Jenkins' sideswipe.

In his piece "Not True, Not Funny," Woods said Jenkins' fake interview "fails as a parody, and is really more like grudge-fueled piece of character assassination." The 38-year-old, who has been sidelined by back problems since August but plans to return to competition for Hero World Challenge in two weeks, said the column hit "below the belt."

Woods added, "Good-natured satire is one thing, but no fair-minded writer would put someone in the position of having to publicly deny that he mistreats his friends, takes pleasure in firing people and stiffs on tips - and a lot of other slurs, too."

Jenkins wrote his piece in November and Steinberg responded shortly after with his letter to Conde-Nast. "Jenkins implies in the piece he was declined for an interview with Tiger. But no such request was made, at least not recently. Shouldn't he have done that before making up an interview?" the letter asked.

The letter also says Jenkins claimed Woods "has contempt for tipping, enjoys firing employees, is unable to make business decisions, isn't smart, disregards his friends and is personally dishonest. These things aren't jokes, they are character slanders and ones for which Jenkins has no basis whatsoever."

Woods wrote a monthly column for Golf Digest from 1997 through 2010. When reached for comment by writer Rex Hoggard, Golf Digest responded: "The Q&A is clearly labeled as 'fake,' both on our cover and in the headline. The article stands on its own."

Of his role in the controversy, Jenkins tweeted: "My next column for Tiger: defining parody and satire. I thought I let him off easy."

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