Woods & Foley Part Ways

Tiger Woods has severed ties with his swing instructor, Sean Foley, after four years of them working together. Woods made the announcement on his website.

"I'd like to thank Sean for his help as my coach and for his friendship," Woods said on www.tigerwoods.com.

"Sean is one of the outstanding coaches in golf today, and I know he will continue to be successful with the players working with him. With my next tournament not until my World Challenge event at Isleworth in Orlando, this is the right time to end our professional relationship.

"Presently, I do not have a coach, and there is no timetable for hiring one," added Woods.

In response, Foley said on Woods' website: "My time spent with Tiger is one of the highlights of my career so far, and I am appreciative of the many experiences we shared together," Foley said.

"It was a lifelong ambition of mine to teach the best player of all time in our sport. I am both grateful for the things we had the opportunity to learn from one another, as well as the enduring friendship we have built. I have nothing but respect and admiration for him," added the 40-year-old Canadian.

Woods' dismissal of Foley came on Monday, the day after one of the instructor's other star pupils, Hunter Mahan, won The Barclays in New Jersey.

Foley was the third coach in Woods' career, which includes 79 PGA Tour wins and 14 majors. Butch Harmon (eight majors) and Hank Haney (six) preceded Foley, who began working with Woods at the 2010 PGA Championship. Woods' most recent Grand Slam title came in the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines.

Woods is in the midst of a three-month hiatus from competition. Because of ongoing back problems - he had surgery in late March - he's played in only seven events this year. His best finish was a tie for 25th at the WGC-Cadillac in March, where he struggled with back pain. Woods had surgery soon after.

Foley, also the instructor for 2013 U.S. Open champion Justin Rose, took the news in stride. "These sorts of things are inevitable," Foley told ESPN.com about the end of his relationship with Woods. "Like in any industry, people part ways."

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