A major factor in the recent success Tiger Woods has been having is due to his swing coach, Canadian Sean Foley.
Woods won a PGA tournament for the first time in two years when he took home first place at the Chevron World Challenge on Dec. 4.
Many fans and pundits argued Woods’ win didn’t deserve all the fanfare because it wasn’t a full-field event.
Foley says he ignores what the critics have to say and that Tiger does deserve credit for the win.
“The thing is, there was 11 of the top 25 ranked players in the world there,” Foley told Sportsnet’s Hazel Mae.
“Over in the Hong Kong event there were five of the top 25 players in the world there, as well as in the Nedbank there was six of the top 25. So, arguably (Chevron) had the strongest field from the sense of that depth in the top 25. I think he did great and has been doing well and he has been working hard.”
Tiger has received a lot of flack from people who say he is not the same golfer he used to be.
“I’m always interested in trying to understand how people forgot that Tiger won 14 majors and 71 tournaments and 6 U.S. Amateurs,” Foley said.
“Talent doesn’t go anywhere. Everyone hits a rut in life and once you get over that and face the adversity, I think it can put things in clear focus. I was just extremely pleased for Tiger because I know how much it means to him and how hard he has worked and how sensational he is as a player.”
Foley has garnered a lot of praise for helping Tiger restructure his swing technique over the last year, which can be difficult for veteran golfers.
“It’s difficult if you’re impatient,” Foley said. “Tiger is a very patient athlete and he has done this before, so it’s interesting to see (fans) question him when every time he does it, it ends up turning into an achievement.”
“It’s been 15 months that I’ve worked with Tiger, but in sheer man hours of work, it has probably only been four months, so I really feel like we’re way ahead of schedule … If Tiger is healthy, I don’t really think it matters who coaches him,” Foley added.