The relationship between Arnold Palmer and Tiger Woods was always a special one. The two golfers respected and regarded each other as best friends. So much so that the late legendary golfer had once enjoyed bantering Woods while the latter celebrated his victory in the locker room.
Bob Harig, who has recently written a book titled ‘Tiger & Phil: Golf’s Most Fascinating Rivalry,’ shared the story on the podcast ‘Chasing Majors.’ Notably, the writer used to work as an ESPN golf writer at the time of this incident. Presently, he works as a golf writer for Sports Illustrated.
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“He (Woods) was in there celebrating,” Harig said. He explained what he saw in the Bay Hills locker room after Tiger invited him. The golfer and others were celebrating his 2013 Arnold Palmer Invitational then.
Harig further explained that although he didn’t drink then, Woods and others present in the locker room were drinking. He even notes how they kept throwing poking fun at each other.
“And all of a sudden, Arnie walks in,” Harig said. Nicknamed The King, Palmer used the men’s room in the locker room while the ‘celebrations’ was still going on. “All of a sudden, you hear him bellow out to Tiger and calls another word for a wimp,” Harig added. “Because he (Tiger) hit it… he laid off on 18.”
Read more: How Many Holes-In-One Has Tiger Woods Made In His Career?
According to Harig, Woods didn’t make the green in one shot on the 18th hole in the last round. There was water in the front. Hence, as most others do, Tiger had hit it off to the right side and knocked it up to the green with his next shot.
And Arnold Palmer took this opportunity to make fun of Tiger for not being able to make the green in a single shot.
How did Tiger Woods respond to the banter from Arnold Palmer?
“I can’t believe you did that. You didn’t go for the green,” Harig explained what Arnie shouted at Tiger from across the room. “And he was just screaming it at the top of his lungs.”
“And Tiger was just loving it,” he added. “He was absolutely loving it. He thought it was so great.”
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Woods won the event with an overall score of 13-under, which gave him a two-shot lead against Justin Rose. Notably, he also got his OWGR first rank back with the victory. He also became the leader of the FedEx Cup standings with the win.
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What do you think about the funny yet beautiful moment between two of the best golfers of all time?
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