Sir Nick Faldo, Who Highly Respects Tiger Woods, Once Asked Him to ‘Man Up’ Over a Controversial Rules Decision at the 2013 Masters

Tiger Woods is one of the most bluntly honest players in the golf community. The 15-time major winner has tons of fans across the world and is renowned for his fearless remarks on and off the field. However, there was a time when some people disagreed with a decision taken in favor of the players.

Among these people was Sir Nick Faldo, who thought Tiger Woods should “man up” during the controversial decision.

Nick Faldo’s take on the controversial Tiger Woods decision

Sir Nick Faldo has been a great supporter of Tiger Woods since the beginning. Like Woods, Faldo is also concerned about a player’s legacy more than his game. However, there was a time when Faldo was more concerned about Woods’ legacy than probably Woods himself.

During the 2013 Masters at Augusta, Woods hit his third shot on No. 15 and put it in a water hazard. But to everyone’s surprise, he was not disqualified by the Masters officials. Instead, they gave him a two-stroke penalty for taking a free drop. But this decision by the officials led to a worldwide debate about Woods’ score.

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CBS Golf analyst and Tiger Woods’ well-wisher Nick Faldo had a completely unexpected take on the matter. The three-time Master winner said that Woods should “man up” and withdraw. He said, “Tiger should really sit down and think about this and what it will leave on his legacy. Personally, I think this is dreadful. … That was no intention to drop close to the divot.” It looked like Nick Faldo had a higher interest in protecting Woods’ legacy than celebrating his safe game.

What did Woods say about the decision?

Woods continued to play after his score was revised at the 15th hole. The officials added two strokes to Woods’ scorecard. Thankfully, he was not disqualified due to a new rule that came into effect two years before the incident.

In his response, Woods tweeted after the tournament that he wasn’t aware that he took an “incorrect drop”. He added, “I understand and accept the penalty and respect the Committees’ decision.” Most people agreed with Woods when he said he didn’t know about his mistake. But some golf fans still believed that the golfer just got lucky after trying to deceive the officials.

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