Tiger temper tantrum turns up on YouTube

In this the summer of his discontent (defined simply as no victories in majors), Tiger Woods' temper has come under increasing scrutiny, subjecting him to more criticism than he has ever received. After hitting an errant shot at the Deutsche Bank Championship on Friday, Woods let go of his club which wound up in what eyewitness Jason Sobel of ESPN called "a dry wetlands area about 10 yards in front of the tee box," require caddie Steve Williams to fish it out.

Sobel wrote: "On a tee box that was largely closed to foot traffic, Woods' tantrum may have been witnessed by fewer than a dozen observers -- playing partners included -- as nary a cameraman nor photographer was within shooting distance."

Or so he thought. Turns out that a fan recorded the incident and posted it on YouTube on Saturday:

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This latest episode comes only two weeks after Australian legend Peter Thomson made news for referring to Woods as "morose and petulant," one of several to criticize Woods in recent months for his on-course behavior.

It is a curious dichotomy that Woods, who otherwise is so conscious and protective of his image, routinely allows his temper to tarnish it.

-- John Strege