CBS SportsLine
Chat Transcript
March 17, 1999

After becoming the youngest player to ever win the Masters, Tiger won his latest tournament at the Buick Invitational. (Allsport)

 

Since becoming a professional golfer in the late summer of 1996, Eldrick "Tiger" Woods, now 23 years old, has had a remarkable career on the PGA Tour. He has won 10 tournaments, eight of those on the PGA Tour. At 21, he became the youngest Masters champion ever with a record-breaking performance, winning the first major championship for someone of African or Asian heritage.

Tiger stopped by to chat live with fans on his web site on Wednesday, March 17 and he shared his views on his recent putting success, some tips for your own game and even on the retirement of his good friend MJ.

He achieved the No. 1 world ranking, which was the most rapid progression ever to that lofty position. Tiger compiled one of the most impressive amateur records in golf history, winning six USGA national championships plus the NCAA title. He concluded his amateur career by winning an unprecedented third consecutive U.S. Amateur Championship with a record 18 consecutive match-play victories. He is the only player in USGA history to have won both the Junior Amateur and Amateur titles.

Find out what Tiger had to say in the full transcript of his chat below.

Tiger Woods: Welcome everyone to the web site. I hope we can have a great conversation!

Question: Hello Tiger, what do you think will help improve the popularity that you have brought to the game of golf?

Tiger Woods: Well, one you have to go into the school system and show them that there is a sport called golf. The majority of people who attend school, golf is not their No. 1 priority as far as sports go. From there, provide access to numerous facilities around he country, where kids can partake in the enjoyment of the game.

Question: Tiger, do you feel that when you turned pro, your play set some high expectations that media has asked you to live up to?

Tiger Woods: I feel I did set some high expectations and some high levels. The media is going to do what ever they are going to do. They will generally pump you up, build you up and over time, cut you down. That is the nature of the business, it happens to a lot of athletes. If you don't succeed, that gives them all the more reason to take shots at you unfairly.

Question: Tiger, who was your favorite golfer growing up?

Tiger Woods: I never really had a No. 1 idol. I had a whole plethora of guys for different reasons. I think that was probably the better way to do it. There were a number of guys throughout history that have accomplished numerous things.

Question: Tiger, what's the deal with your putting game, it seems that you have been doing much better lately, change anything?

Tiger Woods: Putting is a facet in anyone game that will come and go. I have been working very hard on my putting my entire career. I never changed anything in my stroke. I just worked on the basics. Sometimes you can't help but make them and miss them. It evens out in the end. You are right, I have putted better this year. I have made quite a few more putts.

Question: What do you think of the comments that the people at the Masters redesigned the course because of you?

Tiger Woods: You have to understand that people at Augusta National redesign it every year. They change the greens around, change the location of the tee boxes, move them further back. Move them left or right. They change the golf course every year. This year, it has been highly publicized in the media. It is nothing uncommon. I think the changes they made to Augusta will only help me because of my length, the changes on 15 and 17 will benefit the longer hitters. The only hole that the change is probably not as beneficial is the change at No. 2.

Question: Tiger, are you excited about getting back to the Masters?

Tiger Woods: I am very excited. Once I got back here to Florida, my mind went straight to Augusta. That generally happens to the majority of players once we hit the Florida swing. We start preparing for the Masters.

Question: Tiger, do you look forward to playing in tournaments that are close to home such as Bayhill?

Tiger Woods: Always being able to stay home is a great advantage. I sleep in my own bed. Most of the tournaments on the tour, we stay in hotel rooms or friends' homes around the country and the world. That takes a big toll on your back and the rest of your body. Being at home, in your own comfort zone makes you feel more at ease.

Question: You seem to have developed a friendship with Michael Jordan, what do think of retirement from the NBA?

Tiger Woods: I was as saddened as anybody when he retired. It was also the best thing for him. He was very frustrated with a lot of things that were happening with the Chicago Bulls management, it was time for him to move to other interests such as trying to take money from me on the golf course (which he hasn't done :-)

Question: Tiger, do you lift weights at all?

Tiger Woods: I lift quite a bit. I lift three times a week and on my off weights four and five times.

Question: Tiger, you seem to be good friends with Mark O'Meara, how did that friendship develop?

Tiger Woods: We play quite a bit together when we are at home. We always play practice rounds together. We hit it off when I was 14. Make that 15. From there, I didn't see him much, but followed his career on TV as well as in the papers until I turned pro. Then I bought a townhouse right down the street from his home and from there our friendship just blossomed.

Question: Tiger, how come you can whack the heck out of the ball so far?

Tiger Woods: :-) I believe it has to broken down into Physics. What I mean by that is if you have the velocity traveling into the golf ball, that kinetic energy is then transferred into the golf ball. That is able to send it however far it was determined to go. My average ball speed is approximately 170 mph. And from there you can estimate if you have the correct launch angle and spin rate that the ball will travel in that distance.

Question: Tiger, has your stroke changed any since you went from an amateur to becoming a pro?

Tiger Woods: My swing has changed considerably. It has shortened. My swing plane is more rounded. And some other few minor adjustments I make from day to day, week to week, month to month, I think any player can relate to that.

Question: Tiger, is there a specific product that you recommend to golfers to play their best?

Tiger Woods: I recommend that if you want to play your best golf, the best players in the world used Titleist. Titleist has won every tournament this year with the ball. Leads the tour in glove use. Hand drivers.

Tiger Woods: Thank you for participating in this chat. I hope I was able to answer some of the questions that you all had. And I am looking forward to doing this agian whenever we can. Sorry I couldn't get to them all, have to go. Make sure to visit my web site at www.tigerwoods.com and my official fan club at www.clubtiger.com.