Tiger Woods: Will Fans and PGA Tour Members Turn on Him?

IT has hit the fan and it's all over Tiger.

By now you've probably heard the voice mail:

"Hey, it's Tiger. I need for you to do me a huge favor..."

Perhaps you've seen his admission to "transgressions" on his official website: www.TigerWoods.com:

"I have let my family down and I regret these transgressions with all my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves...."

And it goes on.

Next question: what's next for Tiger Woods when he returns to the tour in January?

How will the fans receive and perceive him?

How will his fellow players look at all of "this"?

America is a forgiving country and so many recognizable sports figures have fallen from grace. But Tiger? He had made his near-billion dollar living with his "squeaky clean"' image.

His website had nearly 5,000 comments by early Wednesday afternoon.

A sampling:

Tiger,, I have faith that you'll find your bearings and that you will be the husband and father you aspire to be..."   anonymous.

"Tiger, you and your family are in my thoughts and prayers. Romans 3:23 is some scripture for you to read. I too fell in my marriage and it took a while for us to heal but by the grace of God we worked through it..."  Swampfox.

"My heart goes out to your wife. May she be blessed with strength to make it through this trial that you have brought upon her...." NativeSwede.

Those are just a few.

Will fans forgive Tiger? Probably. Some will, some might not.

Will there be hecklers somewhere down the line at a tournament? You betcha.

That will be the most interesting scenario to observe.

Other tour players?

It's a mixed bag.

There are two rival superstars on the PGA Tour: Tiger and Phil Mickelson. It's been documented and even Tiger's caddy, Steve Williams, said some not-so-nice things about Philly Mick.

On the tour there are two camps:  FOP and FOT—Friends of Phil and Friends of Tiger. Guys who play practice rounds with Mickelson typically don't play practice rounds with Tiger.

There are players on tour who like Tiger and there are players who don't. But they ALL respect him. They understand how much more attention and money he has brought to the PGA Tour. They don't kid themselves, they know that Tiger's presence makes more money for all of them.

Oh, you can bet there are some guys who are laughing at all of this as it unveils.

For sure, Tiger has his "you-know-what" in a ringer.

Recently, John Daly urged Tiger to: "just tell the truth."

JD should know, his life on and off the tour has been one disaster after another.

JD is the King of Disaster, yet fans love him. He is a common man, a man with demons and problems.

But Tiger?

At this point in time, it's simply a confirmation that we never really know these stars.

We don't know about their lives, their problems, their demons.

We see Tiger Woods, corporate spokesman extraordinaire, but who really knows him?

The author spent 10 years covering the PGA Tour and one year as a PGA Tour caddy. He was able to spend considerable time in the players locker rooms, as it was a standard practice years ago. Writers knew players and players knew writers. The tour has changed considerably as has the way it is covered. The only access to Tiger Woods is through "mass media" interviews. Woods seldom, if ever, grants individual interviews.