Swing coach Haney quits on Tiger Woods
With Tiger Woods' golf swing under almost as much scrutiny as his private life in recent weeks, there have been suggestions that the beleaguered world No. 1 could be about to ditch his swing coach Hank Haney.
But yesterday Haney beat his embattled employer to the punch, announcing to the world that he had stepped down as Woods' coach.
Haney delivered the news on US television network the Golf Channel, and a statement on his website confirmed his decision. "I have informed Tiger Woods this evening that I will no longer be his coach. I would like to thank Tiger for the opportunity that I have had to work with him over the past six-plus years.
"Tiger Woods has done the work to achieve a level of greatness that I believe the game of golf has never seen before and I will always appreciate the opportunity I have had to contribute to his success. However, I believe at this time that it is in both our interests for me to step aside as Tiger's coach.
"Just so there is no confusion, I would like to make it clear that this is my decision. Tiger and I will always be friends but I believe there is a time and place for everything and I feel at this time and at this place in my life I want to move forward in other areas."
While speculation will be rampant that Haney jumped before he was pushed, Woods made reference to Haney as his coach as recently as yesterday in a press conference to promote the AT & T National tournament. When asked about his swing, Woods replied: "I talked to Hank about some of this stuff and we are still working on it. Still got a lot of work to do."
Haney had been criticised by US golf pundit Johnny Miller over the weekend after Tiger's unconvincing showing at the Players Championship - though Woods play was steady if unspectacular on the first three days, on Sunday he withdrew from the competition citing a sore neck.
There has been some suggestion that poor play that day contributed to Woods decision to quit, incidentally; at the time he pulled out, Woods was two-over for the day.
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