Former President Bill Clinton and golfer Tiger Woods’ friendship reportedly started out sour. An reported dispute between the two began in 1997, when Woods declined an invitation to attend a baseball game with Clinton to commemorate Jackie Robinson’s debut in Major League Baseball as the organization’s first Black player. Years later, the two met for a golf outing, which was apparently a bad encounter courtesy to Woods.
In the March 2018 biography titled after the golfer, authors Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian said Woods was exceedingly nasty to the 42nd President during a casual February 2006 game just before opening the Tiger Woods Learning Center in Anaheim, California. The 15-time major champion, who has acquired a sizable net worth throughout his career, was reportedly on his phone for much of the game and refused to travel in the same cart with Clinton. Furthermore, the book said he engaged in other actions that are frowned upon in the golfing world. “After finishing a hole, he would routinely exit the green while others were still putting, a major breach of golf etiquette,” according to an excerpt. Insiders further said that when Woods was offered a photo of himself and Clinton to sign following the outing, he took months to do so. These charges stand in stark contrast to Woods’ account of events, which he disclosed months after his encounter with Clinton.
Woods’ recollection of the game was significantly more positive.
Tiger Woods was happy with his day on the course with Bill Clinton. During a May 2006 Arkansas children’s golf clinic, Woods mentioned Clinton’s golf skills from their day out, saying the final score was “Woods 4, Clinton 3″ (via The Ledger). “We had a good time. He was a fun person to play with and quite intelligent. Brilliant, the stuff he understood to characterize world affairs… actually rather astonishing.” His warm sentiments contrasted with the 2018 report of their adventure. Representatives for both denied the book’s claims.
Doug Band, a former deputy assistant and counselor to President Bill Clinton who played with them on the course, refuted Woods’ malice. Speaking with Golf Digest days after an extract from “Tiger Woods” was revealed ahead of the book’s release, Band insisted that the narrative of the game was false. “It was a casual, intimate round with a group of people who relished the chance to hear each other’s off-the-record stories and enjoy the day together away from the rest of the world,” Band said. Woods’ manager, Mark Steinberg, and top spokesperson, Glenn Greenspan, also issued a statement to Golf Magazine that same month, stating that authors Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian did not conduct adequate research, resulting in various mistakes in the article. Woods later said that he was not a fan of the HBO documentary on him, which was based on his biography.
