Immaturity in reporting on immaturity...

Rick Reilly, the noted former Sports Illustrated columnist who went to ESPN in 2008, wrote a column during the summer that truly made me cringe. Following the British Open, Reilly wrote this condemnation of Tiger Woods:

"He spent most of his two days at Turnberry last week doing the Turn and Bury. He'd hit a bad shot, turn and bury his club into the ground in a fit. It was two days of Tiger Tantrums -- slamming his club, throwing his club and cursing his club. In front of a worldwide audience."

"This isn't new. Woods has been this way for years: swearing like a Hooters' bouncer, trying to bury the bottom of his driver into the tee box, flipping his club end over end the second he realizes his shot is way offline."

"I know what you're saying. We see more Tiger tantrums because TV shows every single shot he hits. And I'm telling you: You're wrong. He is one of the few on Tour who do it. And I keep wondering when PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem is going to have the cojones to publicly upbraid him for it."

I in no way say that there aren't aspects of Tiger's life to criticize, as there are (Nike, UAE), but the issue here is both journalistic credibility and inconsequential reporting. Yes, Tiger does have a bad temper, yes he does curse, and yes he does throw clubs, but he's not the only one. Reilly tries to make the case that Woods is an anomaly, but that's blatantly false. I will admit that I did some research and struggled to find any media coverage of poor PGA Tour behavior--maybe this is because today's golf media is so heavily dominated by Tiger Woods coverage, I rely on my first hand account of attending professional golf events. Players get upset and men often revert to machismo sports behavior; swearing, pouting, and overt temperamental displays.

As a kid, I volunteered for, the former, LaSalle Bank Open, a Chicago Buy.com (Nationwide, Nike Tour) event. In my three days one year, I witnessed 3 broken clubs, 2 outright swearing fits, a broken flag stick, and countless club slamming. By the way, much of that occurred on Saturday as one player in my group, Doug Barron, had an 8-under streak in a 7-hole stretch.

There isn't just one instance; I've attended almost a dozen PGA Tour events in my lifetime, and there are moments of questionable behavior that I recall from every event.

And Reilly calls on PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem to respond, which is absurd.

"Tiger is teaching them that if he can be a hissy hothead on the course, they can, too."

Please . . .

You're really going to criticize Tiger Woods as a role-model for children. . .

I was fortunate enough to attend a Chicago banquet for the 2004 U.S. Open at Olympia Fields that featured Arnold Palmer, Phil Mickelson, and Jim Nantz. As nothing more than a precocious 17-year-old, I asked Mr. Palmer about his brash playing style. He responded by telling a story: as a young man, Mr. Palmer was playing golf with his father when, after he hit a poor shot, Arnold threw a club. Arnold's father, Deacon, told Arnold that golf was a game and that it was meant to be played as a game. For that reason, Arnold treated golf as a game and he, seemingly, enjoyed every moment of his career.

While I will never criticize Arnold Palmer's contributions to the game, let's not forget that 41 of Palmer's 62 career victories were from 1955 - 1963, from ages 26 to 34. Palmer's last major, the 1964 Masters, came at age 35. While Mr. Palmer's technical flaws eventually caught up with his age, there is room for discussion regarding Palmer's drive. In the era of Hogan -- a meticulous practicer, a man seemingly possessed with the drive to perfect his golf wing, Palmer never worked on his.

The basis for Reilly's comments is, ultimately, that there's something afoul in Tiger Woods-land. That's blatantly absurd; not only is Tiger Woods receiving unprecedented stardom from golf, but, arguably, he's positioning himself as one of the quintessential global icons of our time. Not only did he recently establish himself as the world's first athlete billionaire, not only will he likely eclipse all essential golf records within the next few years, not only is he the best golfer in the world and seemingly the most dominant athlete today, but he's one of the most influential, visible, and recognizable figures in the world. Well argued Rick Reilly. . .

Reilly is one of the great sports columnists in history, he's responsible for one of my favorite articles, he's undeniably funny, but, when it comes to sports, specifically golf, he doesn't have any sort of reasonable frame to use.

"One day, when Tiger was just a kid, he was throwing his clubs around in a fuming fit when his dad said something like "Tiger, golf is supposed to be fun." And Tiger said, "Daddy, I want to win. That's how I have fun.""

Tiger is right, winning is fun. I used to use a classic sporting cliche when it came to my golf; how do you spell "fun?" . . ."W . I . N."

Tiger does obviously need to be aware of his behavior because he is such an influential figure. But, ultimately, it is Tiger's temperament, his tightly-wound personality, and his unquestionable driving temperament that has made him the greatest ever. Tiger seems to expect more from himself than his peers; he openly states that, when he arrives on the first tee on Thursdays, he expects, not believes, not hopes, but EXPECTS to win.

Photo(s): Rick Reilly, Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer