10 Golfers That Fans Love to Root Against

You've, no doubt, heard of the Worst Dressed, Most Obnoxious, Most Unfriendly, etc., etc. lists.

Following is a spin-off of those: Call it the 10 Golfers That Fans Love to Root Against.

And this list is an all-encompassing one, including players from the PGA Tour and Champions Tour.

Like all lists, you'll agree with some of it, disagree with some of it.

But, either way, you'll enjoy it.

Tiger Woods Has Become a Player Very Easy to Root Against

Tiger Woods was on the fast track to becoming the greatest to ever play golf when his world came crashing down on Thanksgiving 2009. He may never reach that status, but when it's finished, his career will be on the short list of the best of all time.

Woods is also arrogant, abrasive, condescending, unapproachable and perhaps the least fan interactive player on the PGA Tour. There were legions of golf fans around the world who cheered the misfortune he brought on himself with his scandalous behavior.

And let's be absolutely truthful here, the color of his skin did him no favors when he burst onto the PGA Tour in 1996 and became the best player very quickly.

All of that has made it very easy for fans to root against him.

Vijay Singh: A Scowl by Any Other Name Looks the Same

Vijay Singh is the acknowledged leader in practice balls hit on the PGA Tour. He has worked harder at his game than any other player out there.

Too bad the Scowlin' Fijian didn't spend as much time on his personality.

He was involved in an alleged cheating incident in 1985 on the Southeast Asia Tour and has bristled for years about the negative publicity the incident created. He has mistrusted the media since then and, while a very private person, could be viewed in a much different light had he not fostered such a great distrust of the media. He is, after all, a three-time major champion.

A very, very easy guy to root against.

Scott Hoch Was Easy to Root Against Because of His Demeanor

Scott Hoch played in 644 PGA Tour events, won 11 times and earned over $18 million in that time.

It's hard to imagine someone with that sort of career being as miserable as Hoch.

Diplomatic? Not Hoch. Upon seeing St. Andrews for the first time, Hoch told the Associated Press, "Worst piece of mess I've ever played."

In 1989, he faced a two-foot putt on the 72nd hole at the Masters that would have made him a Masters champion. When he made the stroke, the ball didn't even touch the hole.

Certainly enough to highly disappoint a player, but was it enough to make him Mr. Bitter Beer Face?

Rory Sabbatini Always Seems to Be in the Way of Controversy

Rory Sabbatini has always chosen the spotlight.

Whether it was leaving slowpoke Ben Crane on a green and going ahead to the next tee, or verbally battling with Sean O'Hair or Tiger Woods, or berating a volunteer during the Northern Trust Open a few years ago, Sabbatini's personality could never be viewed as shy.

He has taken on the persona of the PGA Tour's resident bully and that has not sat well with those who buy tickets to tournaments.

Let's just say he doesn't have a huge fan club.

The Poster Boy for Unfulfilled Promise, Anthony Kim

Coming out of college, there were high expectations for Anthony Kim, who was a three-time All-American at the University of Oklahoma.

And he made a big splash, finishing in a tie for second in the Texas Valero Open, winning almost $300,000. Kim has won three times and has played on a Ryder and Presidents Cup team.

But not long after that splash, Kim got in over his head and started struggling with the lifestyle choices of a highly successful professional athlete. His game suffered and then he was beset with a succession of injuries.

Add to that a downright snarly attitude most of the time and he's become one of those guys who is very easy to root against. He was a club-throwing amateur in his younger days and hasn't been able to shake that rap.

For Kevin, It Was Na Na Na for a While on the Tee

By all accounts, Kevin Na is a nice enough man.

But on the golf course, Na has always been a slow player, one who is determined to be absolutely, positively ready to hit before doing so.

That has annoyed playing competitors, fans attending tournaments and those watching on television.

Then at the Players Championship in May, Na suddenly developed a bad case of being unable to pull the trigger over a tee shot. He would waggle, waggle, reset, waggle, step away, then re-start his pre-shot routine and it became painful to watch.

It wasn't much fun for him either, but it just added to the reasons to root against him.

John Daly Had a Chance to Be One of Golf's Greats

When John Daly burst into national prominence in August of 1991 by winning the PGA Championship as the ninth alternate into the field, the world lay at the feet of the blonde-haired, long-balling native of Arkansas.

Alas, the youngsters from the small town of Dardanelle, Ark., couldn't deal with the sudden celebrity and soon began a life of running through money, wives and those who would step up and support him as he tried to self-destruct.

His game fell to the depths and soon became a subject of jokes. He still maintained something of a fan base, after all he did win two major championships, but many of them viewed him as a sideshow instead of a viable golfer.

He's made a bit of a comeback in recent months but, in many circles, he's now looked at as something of a pathetic figure.

Sergio Garcia Was Never Able to Reach Tiger's Level

Remember that rambunctious rookie back in 1999, slicing a shot around a tree and then chasing after it with a scissor-kick jump trying to see it hit the green? It happened at Medinah Country Club in the PGA Championship and, as it has turned out, Sergio Garcia racing to see the shot was a microcosm of his career.

He's been chasing Tiger Woods ever since that day, ordained as the next great one, but not blessed with the maturity or class to make that chase in a way that would reflect well on him and the sport.

Garcia has adopted the whiny attitude of a spoiled child, complaining how Tiger got all the breaks and claiming how the weather was always against him. Fans generally don't take complainers well and in 2002 when the U.S. Open went to Bethpage Black on Long Island, Garcia was in his grip and re-grip, ad nauseum stage and the leather-lunged fans there let him have it as he procrastinated in the fairways.

He dated golf legend Greg Norman's daughter for a while and when a public breakup took place, he pouted and slipped into a deep funk.

Just not an easy man to root for.

Ian Poulter, the U.K.'s Mouth That Roars

He has become the king of the Twitterverse, at the PGA Tour neighbor of that planet.

He has his own clothing line and he dresses in his own particular way.

He has become a lightning rod for things that he's done and said.

And the Brit is arrogant, snippy and sometimes downright abrasive.

Yep, that would be Ian Poutler.

He became famous in a 2008 Golf World article when he said, "I haven’t played to my full potential and when that happens it will just be me and Tiger” (via The Telegraph).

And in pre-Masters press conference last year, he predicted that Woods wouldn't finish in the top five. That drew a response of, "Poulter is always right, isn’t he?” (via The Telegraph).

Not that there's anything wrong with taking on one of the Tour's elite, but Poulter doesn't have a major title to his credit, so many times he can't be taken seriously.

Dustin Johnson Is a Laid-Back Dude, Maybe Too Laid Back

He can hit the ball a mile, averaging 308.7 yards on measured driving holes.

He can work the ball well enough to have been in contention in a couple of majors in 2011.

There are those who question as to whether or not he's the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, especially the way he basically played himself out of the U.S. Open and played himself out of the PGA Championship.

Dustin Johnson is very talented, very talented. But he has this laid-back, good old Southern boy attitude that comes off sometimes as uncaring. If that is the case, he's not the Lone Ranger out on Tour in that regard.

Lots of the young stars have a lack of urgency and lack of drive.

For whatever reason, Johnson seems to be the poster boy.