It is All Over! I am a New Self and I’m Single!

The Tiger Cub


The Champ in the Making


A Youthful Amateur Champ


With his Father, the Late Earl Woods


With his Beloved Son, 18 month old, Charlie


THe Classic One Wood Tee-Off


The Classic Follow -Through


Hear Ye, Listen Up!


Shh....I'm Single and I'm Back!


The good news is (if it can be considered good news) is that Tiger Woods has put everything behind him. His marital problems have now been resolved. His divorce has been finalized. The settlement amount has been agreed upon and matters relating to visiting rights for his children ( 3 year old girl, Sam and 18 month old boy, Charlie) have now been determined.

Tiger the numero uno of golf has seen the worst. His position threatened, his game on the low, his swing coach no more with him, he missed the cut in a recent tournament and his home life shattered.

What is there then for him? A lot! What is his future now? Great! How is his golf going to fare? Interesting! Yes, He was down but not out. The only way to go is up.

We look forward to good things and good news coming from the Tiger camp. He has to. He has to prop up his game and win tournaments. This will show to the world that he is now a new man, a new player going into his old self. Show those who withdrew his endorsements before ( a lucrative USD120mil ) that he is of sterner stuff. He need not go back to them or rather they need not bother him now. He does not need them. He can get others. There are so many other products that could do with his magical touch.

The only thing he needs to do now is to win tournaments and he has that opportunity at the Barclays this week where he is playing ( The Barclays Classic at Ridgewood Country Club, Paramus, New Jersey, 26 – 29 Aug 2010)

What a turn around! From early reports, we are seeing what we used to see before, that Tiger is jointly leading the pack! His first round score is 65, which is his best this year. Now the old Tiger is on the prowl again!

Give him space, he needs it. Tiger from now on remember, the only way to go is up. Others have problems too, marital problems, still simmering, and not in the open.

You are now done with it! You’re now single! We crave for good golf. You are there to provide it. We crave to see the maroon T-Shirt leading the pack as before! Go for it!

On The Mend and On The Road To Recovery

Tiger Woods : 'How do I look. Do I look happy, naughty or guilty?' (It doesn't really matter. You are Numero Uno of Golf and no one can take that away from you. Just strut your stuff. We're with you!)


Hank Before Tee-Off, Choosing the Right club is Essential.


Hank Teeing-Off, Addressing the Ball and also having a Correct Stance


Hank After Tee-Off, The Follow Through: Taken during the TNB Friendly at Kajang Hill Golf Club on April 30, 1995


Mindef Friendly Golf, From Left : OP Bakar Jamal (Tan Sri) Datuk Khalil, OP Ghani Yunus ( Datuk) and Hank


Valley Golf Club, Phillippines: Together with the Royal Selangor Club golfers at 1 of 3 venues played. Hank at front row extreme left.


Lunch at KGNS after Competition, From Left: OPs Leon,Shah, Ahmad (Datuk) and Yahya (Datuk)


Lunch at KGNS after Competition , From Left: OPs Yahya (Datuk) Hank and Mohamad ( Datuk)


After Lunch At KGNS, From Left: Yusuf Jr,OPs Leon,Mohamad (Datuk) Yahya (Datuk) Norshaari,Ahmad (Datuk) Hank,Rahman and Shah


Lunch at KGNS after Game, From Left: Hashim ( guest), OP Ahmad Nazri, Guest


Lunch at KGNS after Game, From Left: OPs Rahman,Wan Salleh, Norshaari


Lunch at KGNS after Game, From Left: OPs Syed Hamid (Dr), Guest, Mahfar ( Datuk)


Lunch at KGNS after Game, From Left: OPs Mahfar (Datuk), Hamdan, M Noor ( Datuk, Dr)


After Lunch At KGNS, The ' Budak Boys' OP Golfers and guests




The come-back kid of golf , Tiger Woods has not made any creditable impact on his come back trail. His woes since the sexual tryst surfaced had persisted. His game is no where near to where he was before.

He’s played in 5 tournaments ( 2 of them a major) and he found himself in unfamiliar territory - trailing others when he should be leading and winning.

Tiger might be back at the Mines Resort and Golf Club for the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic this October 28-31, 2010 which offers USD1mil to the winner( Tiger was here at the same venue in 1999 where he walked away as the Champ)

On the home front, at home the divorce is as good as done. The discussion is now centred on the settlement figure. Tiger is reputed to be worth USD700 mil and Erin the wife feels USD100 mil should be hers ( not including child support which is additional)

Let's not be taken up with the unsavoury stuff. We'll just talk golf! The goodness of golf.

The road to recovery is long and hard. The British Open ( 1 of 4 majors) played on the weekend of the third Friday in July is just a little over a week away. In 2010, The Open will have prize money of £4.8 mil, with £850,000 going to the winner. It is the only "major" held outside the USA. It is the third major to take place each year, following The Masters and the U.S. Open, but before the PGA Championship.

Tiger has to be in the game again to maintain his position of the Numero Uno of golf. Tiger has discovered that lots of sex is not good for your golf, that is if you are not caught!

I face the same situation also. No, not the juicy part, not the sex part. It is the road to recovery and the desire to play again part.

I’ve laid off golf for quite sometime now, a couple of years maybe? Yes, that long. It becomes more urgent and necessary again as my handcap in KGNS has been obliterated and my right to play jeopardized.

Beginning March 2010, all handicaps obtained prior to 2008 have been withdrawn or cancelled. However way you say it, translated in terms of right to play at the Main Course is also now withdrawn.

Not that I just want to play at the choice Main Course and not at the ‘kiddie course’. It is just that I cannot join my usual ‘Budak Boys’ group which is played off on the Main Course on every 1st Wednesdays of the month. To be allowed to play there I need to have a current handicap.

There is also the Setiakawan Golf Club group comprising those previously with Mindef where I have been encouraged to join in by OP Nawi ( Lt Gen Datuk). This is on every Wednesdays ( 52 times a year) It would mean regular golf for the asking.

I’ve to tone up my golf muscles at the Driving Range for a start before anything else. That’s what I need to do, on the mend, and on the road to recovery.

Tiger it is, he's back!

There’s a good news and a bad news. The good news is, Tiger is back! The bad news is Tiger did not come back with a ‘bang’.

It cannot be him. Tiger Woods is the numero uno, the No.1 golfer in the world. It should not have happened. It was just unthinkable! It could not happen to the best player golf had ever known. Tiger is reputed to be one such player. But it did happen. It happened Friday April 30th at the Quail Hollow Championships ( April 29 – May 02, 2010) . Yes, Tiger missed the cut!

A golf tournament runs for 4 days, from Thursday through to Sunday. At the end of the second day is the cut-off point. Only those with good scores ( those with a 2-day total of less than 145 in the case of Quail Hollow) were allowed to play for the week-end, the remaining 2 days of the tournament. Tiger had an opening round of 74 on Thursday and a 79 on Friday making a total of 153. He was 8 shots above the cut-off which was way off.

Missing the cut means the golfer is a mere spectator for Saturday and Sunday. That was what happened to Tiger. This was only his second game in a PGA tournament following his 5-month self imposed temporary lay-off (arising from his sex scandal ) Five months in the golf wilderness is a long while.

Missing the cut can only happen to lesser mortals but it did happen to Tiger. All goes to show that he's human. It is also shown that golf is a mental game as often emphasized. A golfer can be in the best of physical condition but if mentally affected for some reasons at the moment of play it would have dire consequences on his game.

Tiger is actually known to have a strong mental capacity. This advantage invariably contributed to his many winning forms previously. In fact at the US Masters ( April 08 - April 11, 2010) his first tournament after the lay-off, he came in 4th ( which was a respectable finish ). There were high hopes then that Tiger was on the mend and should do better for the 2nd tournament at Quail Hollow. But missing the cut?

He was heckled no doubt (as attested to on internet videos). Many in the crowd showed a 'thumbs-down' when he walked pass by them from tee-box to tee box. He was under tremendous pressure during the game besides the long lay-off itself, so it can be said.

However being a No. 1 golfer he is expected to be of sterner stuff, unruffled by such minor irritations. He wants to stay competitive. The golfing world wants him. Golf on the final day without Tiger in his familiar maroon coloured vest tells us something's missing.

Just as Muhammad Ali was to boxing, we would remember boxing only by remembering who fought Ali for the heavyweight title. Without Muhammad Ali the heavyweight title lost its glamour (though there was a revival with Mike Tyson but only just!)

So for Tiger, the scenario is all set for him again. He's had his warm-up in 2 tournaments (one a major). He's put his wife Erin on a stable mode ( compromised with a punitively compensated package of US$mils ). The sponsors and tournament directors are happy again - Tiger's appearance brings back the crowd. The money-making machine starts ringing again. Millions of our television audience around the globe are glued to the box again and the ratings increased fast. ( just as Ali did decades ago)

Last but not least, the bookmakers are unperturbed, likewise. Tiger is the favourite to win for the forthcoming US Open ( June 17 - 20, 2010) at Pebble Beach. Let us see if Tiger can live up to it, again!

“….Where Art Thou Tiger?”

Ever since the seemingly minor accident on Nov 27, 2009 in Florida that involved Tiger Woods (his wife’s presence at the scene was initially thought to have been to help him but rather she was there to knock him senseless with a 3-wood) he has not been seen since. What transpired at the accident scene was mired with murky circumstances without anyone the wiser on what really happened, even now.

Eldrick Tont Woods better known as Tiger had come off clean from day one.There was no attempt on his part to deny nor to spin stories. He could not have as there were his conquests 14 of them (now 15). They were ever ready for a 'tell all',telling bedtime stories, of their times with Tiger, to whomsoever - for a fee (even complete with voice mail messages)

Tiger could not therefore talk otherwise except for the only recourse he took with his statements on his web-site, where he apologized and explained - but nowhere was he to be seen. It was rumoured he was heading to the Bahamas in his luxury yacht but the yacht had not moved. It was still at its moorings at the pier.

When he played at the Mines Golf Resort at Sungai Besi way back in 1999 he could command an ‘appearance money’ of RM1 mil (USD?)just to be present and only just to play (winnings were extra) With his absence he has now given a whole new meaning to such a thing as ‘disappearance money’. Even when he 'disappeared' he could still be valuable. However, it was not for himself but for those tracking him. It was reported that a paparazzi snapshot of him now is worth USD300k. Whether you see him on the fairways or you don't he can still command big money. Such is the man.

The world’s wealthiest athlete estimated to earn about US$100 million a year in endorsement deals before his troubles were known, is just as priceless, whether he is seen around or otherwise. We are going to feel the void in 2010 though, as he is to lay off golf for the time being.

So golf forthwith will not be described as, a ‘game where 30 white men with clubs in their hands aggressively chasing a black man, and still not able to inflict any harm to the black man’. Now it will be just some ‘white guys chasing each other around the links and the familiar 'maroon-shirted champ’ on the final day is to be sadly missed.

However much the golf pundits insist that it will not affect the game, it is a foregone conclusion that it will. Golf ratings would definitely plummet down tremendously.

In fact in a report today,(according to a study by two economics professors from the University of California, Davis) the sex scandal may have cost shareholders of companies endorsed by Tiger up to a cool US$12 billion (RM41.2b) in losses.

Tiger in the meantime continued to be the butt of jokes from various quarters. The latest had him as a walking sex machine, generously endowed with a penchant for Latinos. He does not need Viagra but brought out the ‘Tiagra’ in him instead.

Actually the journos are the ones having a field day with a vengeance. They could not do it before on a squeaky clean guy, a goody-two-shoes with an unblemished record both on and off the fairways. Now they can.

Tiger would have to take it. When you are down, you are down. You are not to be heard nor to be seen just yet. Take a leaf from what both Bill Clinton and David Beckham had gone through. It was bad when it lasted but now both are respectable gentlemen and walking tall.

There’s a caveat though. While the spouses of both Clinton and Beckham stood by their men, Tigers’s wife Erin Nordegren talked of ‘separate holidays, separate living (she had already chosen a house to go back to in Sweden) and separation’.

It seemed there was a nuptial agreement so there may be a cap to the extent of compensation and Tiger is not facing the prospects of a bottomless pit in alimony payments. It is not 'much' just USD1bil. Erin likewise would have to think real hard, that a bird in hand is worth 2 in the bush so why make a big thing out of it.He's on the defensive, just stay cool and make sure he does not stray too much.

Hopefully both could have the resolve to pick up the pieces and start anew especially with 2 beautiful kids to get them going.