In this rare interview conducted by Colin Cowherd, the man once regarded as the best golfer to ever live is truly candid regarding the slump in his golf game following the scandal that changed his life forever two years ago. Perhaps making himself a bit more publicly available and talking about his prolonged slump will help him turn things around in 2012.

Tiger Woods joined ESPN Radio on The Herd with Colin Cowherd to discuss whether he’d still rank himself the No.1 golfer in the world, if he’s still able to playing at full strength having now had four knee surgeries, playing tentative golf because of his injuries, walking off the golf course on numerous occasions the last two years feeling embarrassed about his play, having any self doubt in his playing ability, if he thinks he’ll get back to the place emotionally where he’ll be doing fist pumps out there on the golf course, what his mental state on the golf course has been like this past two years, and if he’s afraid he may not ever win another major.

Where do you rank yourself today in the world of professional golf?

“Well I think as you know that is all subjective except for us as sportsmen where it’s direct numbers. For me I know that now I am healthy and I’m playing well again that it’ll just take time, but I feel I can get myself back up in the world rankings. Unfortunately I was hurt for awhile and it fell off. All my points that came off from 2009 because of a two-year revolving scale on our world rankings it all came off this year, so I didn’t play. All those points came up, but next year I can build on that.”

Can you grip and rip it today despite four left knee surgeries and an Achilles tendon injury?

“Actually I’m hitting it further now. [Colin Cowherd: Wow] So that is exciting for me is that I am fully healthy. I’ve implemented the changes that Sean [Foley] wants me to – how Sean wants me to swing the golf club and I’ve got my speed back. That’s exciting. I certainly don’t hit the ball as far as a guy like Gary Woodland or Dustin Johnson, but I am not far behind.”

Are you tentative at all given four knee surgeries?

“No. No. That’s the beauty of it. I’m finally going now. I am finally able to go. It hasn’t been an easy road. That’s for sure. There’s a difference between obviously rehabbing and then training. I hadn’t been able to train in a long time, so it’s fun to get past that rehab stint and now I can train and that’s when I made the biggest gains in the weight room and then that’s been directly related to my performance on the golf course.”

Was there a time you ever walked off the golf course in the last two years where you were embarrassed?

“Well I certainly haven’t been happy with the way I played. There’s no doubt about that. There’s a lot of times when I hit shots that I had never hit before. That was a frustrating period to go through trying to limp through it and it was frustrating. But I’m past that now. I am fully healthy and the way I played in Australia was very exciting for me because when the wind blows like that and it’s howling consistently like when it did in Sydney and down in Melbourne and I ended up playing 9 rounds, 9 competitive rounds during that stretch. I felt like I had control of the golf ball for all those days and as a player you get exposed from the wind if you have any kind of weakness and I didn’t have any glaring weakness and as the more I played I got better. That was the fun part that when the wind blew my swing tightened up and actually got better.”

Was there ever any self doubt about your play even when you kept saying you were back over the last couple of years?

“The doubt was – it came in the fact I hadn’t produced enough good rounds at home and I would play – I’d shoot a bunch of 65′s and 66′s at home, but they weren’t quality rounds. I could score. I could still chip and putt. I could still dink around a golf course and make birdies on par-5′s at home, but it wasn’t  the…I was posting good numbers, but it wasn’t as pure as I’d like to have it and I was hoping that I could take that type of scoring into a tournament, but I didn’t. The golf courses were a lot more difficult than they were at home, but lately as I have tightened it up and playing some real quality rounds at home where I’m not struggling. I am not scraping and scrounging. I feel like I shot 65 or 66 – that’s the highest score I could have shot that day. That’s very different than how it was in the past.”

When you win again will it be different this time around?

“I don’t know. Let’s get to that point first. Let’s get there and then ask me again.”

Will you get back to that emotional point again where you will pumping your first?

“Well I need to get to a point where that comes out because it usually came out down the stretch in a tournament. I haven’t played down the stretch of a tournament in awhile. I need to get there. This past – if you look at calendar year of 2011 – I only had basically two chances to win a golf tournament. I was tied for the lead at the Masters. I was on the 15th green and then at the Australian Open here – I had a shot here coming down the last few holes. Other then that just two times in year is…that to me it not very good. Next year I am excited about that. I am excited to put myself in that position. Those are just reactions that come out [pumping his fist after a win]. That’s just the moment. I can’t even explain it because a lot of times I don’t know what the hell happened and then I look at myself on TV and think it is kind of funny sometimes. I didn’t realize I did that. I remember making that putt at the U.S. Open at Torrey [Pines] to make the playoffs and I don’t remember doing any of that. It’s funny to see it on TV because I remember seeing the sky and then looking back at the hole, but I don’t remember the reaction. It was just the moment.”

How have you felt mentally on the course over the last few years?

“There were times certainly where it was tough, but that’s life. You go through periods where it is difficult at times and certainly I went through that, but physically on top of that you add the swing change and then it gets tough, but you get the whole idea to learn from the past and keep moving forward and that’s what I do from each and every round I play and that’s just like life.”

Do you ever fear you may never win a major again?

“If you would have asked me that when I was on the couch this summer in a boot and crutches I would have given you a different answer because it was hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but now that I am healthy and I am playing at home as many holes as I want, practicing as much as I want, putting up the numbers I want in the gym. That to me is exciting. It’s exciting to go out there now and play golf again and not have to worry about anything. If I hit this shot oh my god this could happen? I shouldn’t do this. That plays in your mind trying to hit golf shots and trying to maneuver myself around a golf course. I can just go out and play again. That’s what I did in Australia. I just went out there and just played. I played my best golf I had in years.”

Listen to Tiger Woods on ESPN Radio here

Tiger is immensely popular and will bring some juice to the tournament in February, but he has also had easily the worst season of his entire career on the course and he has not played like one of the top players in the game for a number of years. The off-the-course issues have been well documented and they certainly are a contributing factor to his declining game, but he is a mess on the course as well. He has changed his swing, he has changed putters, he has a new caddy, and he was missing cuts in tournaments. He’s had time off since his last tournament and maybe that will help him turn things around. Maybe all of those things are behind him and he has had time to work on his game. Hopefully for the Fred Couples and United States’ sake that is the case because the Tiger Woods we saw in 2011 doesn’t belong on the President’s Cup team.

Fred Couples joined KILT in Houston with Vandermeer and Lopez to talk about why he decided to pick Tiger Woods as one of his captain’s picks, on the idea that Tiger hasn’t played very much and shouldn’t be on the team.

On why he picked Tiger:

“I’ve wanted to say this because I wanted to get a reaction. Let’s say you guys are running an event on the PGA Tour next year and there’s 40 events, you’re running one of them. If I give you 20 guys that are going to play in your event and I say by the way Tiger Woods isn’t one of them and I will give you one pick of someone who will come, I would be shocked out of those 40 sponsors if 40 didn’t pick Tiger and I’m no different. I think he brings a lot of things to the table. He’s been hurt, he did almost win Augusta, and my whole problem with the whole thing is he wasn’t playing much. I thought he would be in the first round of the playoffs which he wasn’t. I called him and said ‘look Tiger I’m picking you and letting you know I’m picking you but you have to play a little for me.’ I told everyone, at a meeting at the Memorial way back in May that the two guys I picked were playing the week before in Australia. He said ‘no problem.’ Then he committed. He doesn’t play that much anyway, but I got him to play, he’s been working hard, he’s healthy as can be, and obvioiusly no one is a genius and we’ll see how he does. I have a lot of faith in the way he plays. I just think there’s no way he couldn’t be on this team.”

Whether or not he is concerned about Tiger’s struggles this year:

“You’re exactly right. When I did text him the first time was at Bridgestone and he shot some pretty consistent rounds, then he jumped next week right into the PGA which has six inches of Bermuda rough on the right side and the left side and he will tell you he played not poorly, but horribly. Now he’s back and he’s been working on his game. In my mind whether there are sponsors that had nothing to do with my decision. My decision was I think as a human being you want to see him and we all want to see him perform. I took flak for one second by picking Bill Haas, but it’s a two year program and Bill has been inside the top 12 for both years. Keegan Bradley, my God won Byron Nelson and the PGA, which is a major, I left him off and I talked to him and explained to him just how I felt. It’s a bad deal and it’s a tough decision and you have to live it. They all knew Tiger was going to be on the team. The encouragement is that everyone is talking about it and I think any time you get 50 writers talking about it, if 20 of them don’t have a problem with it then that’s their business and I think a lot of the mainstay golfers on our team are excited about it. My big issue is his partner is Steve Stricker who is hurt and we don’t know how he’s gonna be in the next month or two.”

Listen to Fred Couples on KILT in Houston here

At one time Tiger was on such a torrid pace, winning majors in bunches, that when it came to Jack’s record it wasn’t a matter of if, but it was a matter of when. However, the former number one player in the world is a mess right now. Obviously his downfall started in November 2009 when a he crashed his SUV into a tree leading to a huge scandal off-the-course with one of the greatest athletes of the last decade. That was just the beginning. Tiger hasn’t been the same since that night.

On the course making the cut has been a chore, winning majors has been an afterthought, and he has free-fallen in the world golf rankings. The world around him has changed as well. He has cut ties with his former swing coach and his former caddie as well. Tiger’s world fell apart and he has nobody to blame but himself. As he tries to put the pieces back together and find his swing once again, it seems like the record that he has been chasing since he was a little kid, might be just a dream as well.

Nick Price joined KILT in Houston with Vandermeer and Lopez to talk about the state of golf right now, why he is having so much more fun playing golf than when he was younger, and if he ever thinks Tiger will get back to the level he used to be at.

On the state of golf right now:

“I totally agree. The younger players have taken over. The game of golf has changed a lot from obviously 20 years ago. It’s become a game of strength, it really helps to hit the ball a long way now, and these guys are coming straight out of college and if they aren’t winning they are performing exceptionally well. Back in my day and before, back sorta in the 50’s and 60’s it seemed like golfers would mature when they were in their late 20’s, early 30’s, or mid 30’s you always seem to play your best golf around then and these guys are coming out with guns blazing straight out of college. I think it’s really exciting for the game the fact that Tiger hasn’t played well the last two and a half or three years and the game of golf is very healthy with these young guys coming up and showing us how they can play.”

Why he is having more fun playing golf now than when he was younger:

“What happens is when you get into your mid or late 40’s you can’t really compete. You can compete an odd week here and there but it’s very hard to compete consistently. Then as you get toward 50 it’s really a struggle. It was for me and it was for a lot of other guys. We just kept playing because we knew the Champions Tour was just around the corner. Then your first year on the Champions Tour everyone’s expecting great things and saying ‘oh you’re gonna win,’ but you’re playing against guys who have been competitive for five or six years and their games are very sharp. I knew that when I went out there. I was gonna have to elevate my game. It’s sorta the chicken or the egg syndrome. You start having more fun and as a result you start putting a little more time into the game and then you realize the courses we play aren’t quite as long as the ones we were playing on the regular tour and you can be competitive. That’s what’s the best thing. I’ve had more fun playing in the past four or five years since the early 90’s. It’s a great thing for us.”

Whether or not he thinks Tiger Woods will get back to the level he used to be at:

“I think he will get his game back and he will win again and he’ll probably win a major or two again, but it’s going to be a very tall order to beat Jack’s record now. The momentum is gone. To pick up that momentum and get it going again is going to be very difficult. He does need to address a lot of issues with his golf swing. Having seen him play the last three or four years, he just basically is not hitting the ball where he is aiming it. That’s the worst thing that can possibly happen to a golfer. When he starts addressing some of his swing issues and starts hitting the ball a little bit better I think you will see the competitive instinct come back out in him, but I don’t think he’s gonna dominate like he did before. There’s just too many great young players now who are not scared anymore of him.”

Listen to Nick Price on KILT in Houston here

I’m not sure what the future holds for Tiger and I’m not sure whether or not he will get back to something close to the level he has been in the past, but Tiger needs to take some time, work on his swing, and find himself because he clearly isn’t right.

Charles Barkley joined XX Sports Radio in San Diego with Scott Kaplan and Vencie Glenn to talk about whether or not he thinks the lockout in the NBA will last a while, if he thinks star players will go play overseas, whether or not he has heard from Tiger, if it is true that Tiger doesn’t return Barkley’s text messages anymore, and whether or not he knew about Tiger’s transgressions.

Whether or not he thinks the lockout in the NBA will last a while:

“I don’t think they’re gonna play at all this year. I feel bad to be honest with you, I feel bad for the people who work for the teams and the people who work for the arenas. The players and the owners are going to be fine because it’s gonna get settled at some point. The NBA has already laid off 100 people so it’s gonna get ugly, real ugly.”

If he thinks star players will go play overseas:

“No I don’t think Kobe Bryant is going to Turkey. Kobe Bryant, I want to get my numbers right, but I think he has three years and 83 million dollars, so could you imagine him going to Turkey or China for a couple of million dollars and blowing an Achilles or knee out? When you have 83 million dollars coming in the next three years, first of all you should already be financially set, but that’s too much to risk. You can’t risk that money playing overseas.”

Whether or not he has heard from Tiger:

“Nope and hey you know what? I just feel sadness right now to be honest with you. I hate to see him struggling. To be honest with you I almost started crying last week. I was up at the Basketball Hall-Of-Fame watching that Friday afternoon before the ceremony and when he snap-hooked that drive into the woods, chipped out, snap-hooked the other ball I was like wow! What the hell? I feel bad. He was a great friend of mine, I still love him to death, I wish him the best, and like I said I talked to the guy every week for 15 years and we haven’t talked to him since the accident. It is what it is and I just hope he’s alright. That’s the only thing. I don’t have to hang out with Tiger Woods but I really love the guy and want to make sure he’s alright. Clearly he’s not alright and I just feel sadness for him to be honest with you.”

If it is true that Tiger won’t return his text messages:

“He changed his number. We talked I think the day of the accident and I haven’t talked to him since then. My number hasn’t changed. I just want the dude to be alright. This is starting to get ugly. You know it’s funny, I was watching T.V. this morning and they were having a debate whether he should play on the President’s Cup team. Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? That would be so unfair to the other players. I’m not one of those big lifetime achievement guys. I took some heat when we were talking about Tim Duncan playing in the All-Star Game. I said Tim Duncan is the greatest power forward ever, but he should not be starting in the NBA All-Star Game. That’s why I hate the fans picking the All-Star team. To me the All-Star Game you reward the guys for having a great first half of the season. I don’t believe in lifetime achievement awards. Tiger does not deserve to be on the President’s Cup team. Plain and simple. I love the guy, I wish him the best, but he does not deserve to be on the President’s Cup team at this point.”

What he knew about Tiger’s transgressions:

“Let me make one thing perfectly clear because I have heard that assertion. Number one if Hank Haney and Steve Williams didn’t know it and they spent 300 or 200 days a years with Tiger how are we gonna know? Let me make this one point about this whole thing. Even though I talked to Tiger every week for those 15 years we’ve actually only been together 20 times to be honest with you. He had a busy life and I had a busy life. Listen dude I would never get on here and tell you that we didn’t know that if we knew it. We had no idea. Steve Williams has said it, Hank Haney has said it, and those guys spent 200 days a year with him.”

Listen to Charles Barkley on XX Sports Radio in San Diego here

While there is no doubt that a caddie is important to a golfer and without a doubt Stevie is one of the best caddies on tour, it wasn’t his moment. It was Adam Scott’s. Stevie carried the bag, he helped read the putts, kept Scott calm under pressure, but he had no business taking the spotlight from his guy and Williams arrogance was oozing off the television screen.

Paul Azinger joined WDAE in Tampa Bay with Steve Dueming to talk about the tweet that he sent about Steve Williams breaking the caddie code, what Williams words shows about his feelings about Tiger Woods, what he thinks happened between Tiger and Steve Williams, and what he thinks happens from here with Steve Williams.

On his tweet about Steve Williams breaking the caddie code:

“There is like a caddie code. It’s the caddie code, it’s not my code. I just brought it up on twitter I said Steve Williams broke the unwritten rule, I should’ve said code, caddie’s don’t talk to the press and when they do it’s usually at an appropriate time. I don’t have a problem with Stevie talking to the press and I have nothing against the guy but here’s the deal, the player-caddie relationship is a special relationship and it’s a unique bond. The player and the caddie have to get along, the caddie has to know it’s a job, it’s a business, and show up on time. There’s like two or three reasons to get a caddie fired. The player could be sick of looking at the guy and a change could be as good as a rest or the caddie has done something to irritate the player. That’s about it. The old joke is when the player plays good the caddie says we, but when the player plays bad the caddie says he. In this case the player played great and the caddie said I. It caught everybody by surprise and I tweeted about it. I think what really got him fired up is when I put this out there last night, I told my caddie you’re allowed to say three things and it was all tongue and cheek. The three things you always tell your caddie that you can say are you’re right, I’m wrong, and boy you’re screwed. It hit the fan and I think what happened was New Zealand and Australia woke up this morning and I had a lot of people ripping on me for taking Stevie to task a little bit.”

What it shows you about Tiger Woods with the comments from Steve Williams:

“What it shows you is that Tiger Woods is a real lightning rod. There’s a lot of emotion still wrapped up in whether you really like Tiger or can’t stand him. A lot of people have not liked Steve Williams through the years. He has not been a popular person amongst the players and the caddies necessarily and that’s okay, he’s got a work ethic and people don’t like winners a lot of times. This situation was unique. I believe Stevie should’ve been interviewed. I wanted Adam Scott to win so I could hear what Stevie said in regard. It was as much what he said that did the damage. It became a me, me, me or I, I, I fest and he didn’t say how great Adam Scott played. When he said it was the greatest week of my life I don’t know how anybody could believe that and it just shows you there is a lot of bitterness and animosity towards Tiger still and the way he was let go. Probably some of it is justified but he should’ve given Adam Scott his props and then lit Tiger up and I think everybody would’ve thought differently.”

On what happened between Tiger and Stevie:

“I have no idea. It’s going to be speculation and I don’t even want to say anything for fear that someone is going to take it national. I don’t have a vendetta against either one of them, I have always pulled for Tiger to do well, he’s the most exciting player whether you like him or hate him now, and for me personally it’s hard to watch the product unless he is in it. Now that Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott are playing well it’s becoming a little better product, but it’s a great product when Tiger is playing whether you hate him or love him. What happened between those two I don’t know but apparently it’s a bitter man  now and it’s unfortunate, but at the same time you’re talking about golf today on your show opposed to anything else.”

On Tiger Woods not having friends:

“I know that he has to be angry at the media that tore him down. He’s gotta be angry at himself first, he’s dealing with the worst of all possible emotions and that is shame, and he’s not healthy Who are his friends? I mean Mark Steinberg? Come on. (Host: He doesn’t have anybody.) Well he brought it on himself.”

If he thinks Adam Scott will tell Steve Williams to back off or if Williams will stay quiet on his own:

“Steve Williams pipes down on his own.”

Listen to Paul Azinger on WDAE in Tampa Bay here

Williams joined RadioSport New Zealand to talk about when he was told by Tiger that he’d been fired, what his reaction to the news was, why he feels let down by Woods after all they’ve gone through together and all the loyalty he’s shown to Woods, why he’s stunned by the timing of the decision, if he has any respect left for Woods, if the decision was entirely golf-related, why he decided to stay quiet about the news during his work for Adam Scott at the British Open, and how tough it was for him to remain quiet for so long.

On when he learned the news and what his reaction was:

“I found out a couple of weeks ago while at the AT&T National Tournament in Philadelphia, but I just sort of kept the news on the side out of respect to him because I was going to carry for him at the British Open and wanted to keep the story out of the media while he was actually playing in a tournament. Just to protect him a little bit. But I found out after the AT&T tournament like I sad a few weeks ago in Philadelphia when I was carrying for Adam. But obviously I was shocked, there’s no two ways about it.  I would be lying if told you I wasn’t shocked.”

Whether their split has been amicable:

“I mean, nothing’s a bit amicable. When he decided he wanted to go in a different direction, I have no problem with that. I understand from a player’s perspective that the player has the right to change caddies at any given time. We all know that. That’s part of the business we work in. But yeah, from my point of view, I just find the timing of it pretty extraordinary.”

If he feels let down that Tiger cast him aside after all the loyalty he’s shown him over the years:

“Well there’s no two ways about it. I was completely loyal, stuck by the guy, was as loyal as someone could be. I took a lot of heat during Tiger’s scandal — not just myself, my family. I never really got pardoned from that scandal. So I do felt let down, there’s no two ways about it. Like I said, I’m not disappointed to be fired, but given the circumstances and the timing of it, I just find it quite extraordinary.”

On if Tiger has given him a full and adequate explanation for the decision:

“It’s personally between the two of us, so that’s not something I’ll indulge in. That’s between Tiger and myself.”

Whether he’s lost respect for Tiger:

“Well, I would have to say what transpired 12, 18 months ago I think anybody in my situation would say that they didn’t have total respect and that respect would have to be earned. Obviously this situation is definitely not earning my respect if you like.”

If the decision to fire him was strictly golf related for Tiger:

“Like I said, any player that’s not playing the best to what they feel their ability is, they often look for ways to change and get somebody else involved with it — be it a new coach, a new psychologist, a new caddy, someone to bring in some new enthusiasm maybe, a new direction, bring some different things to the table. I’m sure that’s what he’s thinking. I don’t doubt that.”

On how difficult it’s been for him to stay quiet about the news for the past two weeks:

“Well obviously it’s a little bit difficult. I was quote as saying that I was only carrying for Adam Scott for one week, but in fact that quote didn’t come from myself. So speculation after I caddied for Adam for one week, and then to two weeks and then to last week at the British Open — there was lots of media asking me last week what was going on. So yeah, in respect to Adam, the story was best if the story did not come out whilst he was competing in a tournament. So that was why I held the story back following the British Open.”

Listen here to Williams with Kent Johns on Radio Sport New Zealand

Love III has been in contention plenty this year, and says if he simply would have made some putts, he would have been right in contention with Rory McIlory when it came to the U.S. Open. That said, obviously McIlory ran away with that tournament and Love III will have to settle for trying to contend at the British Open.

He’s also got a Ryder Cup team to worry about. In a short, but interesting, interview, Love III says if Tiger is healthy, he’ll be a part of that Ryder Cup team. He also says that we’re probably going a little too far in anointing Rory as the next Tiger.

Davis Love III joined 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh with Seibel, Starkey and Miller to discuss why Tiger Woods would be on his Ryder Cup team, the anointing of McIlroy, if he likes where golf is right now, if he believes he can win another major and the age limit for the Champions Tour.

If you had to pick your Ryder Cup team today, would Tiger Woods be on it?:

“It depends how his knee is and his Achilles and if he’s out of that boot. I think if Tiger can walk the golf course, he’s going to be on that team because he always seems to play well if he’s not hurt. We’re obviously a year-plus away. Hopefully he’s going to be healthy. I saw him say the other day he’s not going to play until he’s 100 percent. He’s saying the right things. Hopefully he’s getting better and feeling better. … If we can get him healthy, I’m sure he’ll be on the team.”

Is Rory McIlroy that good or are we just searching really hard to find the next Tiger?:

“They wanted Tiger to replace Greg Norman and Fred Couples and they replaced Jack Nicklaus. There really is no replacement for Michael Jordan. There is no comparison. It was Michael, and Kobe’s going to be Kobe. Tiger’s always going to be Tiger. There’s not going to be anybody, I don’t think, that dominates for that length of time. … But Rory is an exceptional talent. … Everybody’s just getting excited about it. … Will he be Jack Nicklaus? No. Tiger hasn’t reached Jack Nicklaus yet.”

Do you like where the sport of golf is right now?:

“Rickie Fowler might wear bright colors and, every once in a while, turn his hat backwards, but he is very respectful of the game. He really gets it; he’s got a good head on his shoulders. He’s been a good influence, as a young kids, on guys like Dustin Johnson. … I think we’ve got a good group of leaders. … Every generation is a little cooler and a little hipper and doing dancing videos on TV like Hunter Mahan, but we have a good group of young guys.”

Do you think you can win another Major?:

“I think if I had putted any good at all, I would’ve given Rory a run for it at the U.S. Open. I really hit the ball well and just never really got the ball in the hole. Last year, at Pebble Beach, Dustin Johnson and I both made a bunch of doubles. We could’ve been right in there with Graeme McDowell to win it. I feel like I’ve been close. … I’ve still got a chance. I feel like if I get hot with the putter, I feel like I can win any week. I’ve been 10th to 20th a bunch this year and feel like I was just throwing shots away.”

Do you think they should bump the Champions Tour age limit to 45?:

“The guys that are 50-plus don’t want you to do that. … I’m three years away and getting wishy-washy on it whether it’s going to be what I want to do. If I’m healthy, and still competitive, and feel like I can win on the PGA Tour, like Kenny Perry, he can still win on the PGA Tour. … It’s hard for him to go over to the Champions Tour. … I’ve got three more years.”

Listen to Davis Love III on 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh here

Stewart Cink, a PGA Tour veteran who has played with — in the Ryder Cup and such — and against Tiger says that it doesn’t matter what Woods is ranked in the world, that he drives the bus in terms of the sport’s popularity.

Personally, whether he plays or not doesn’t affect me. I’m going to watch portions of even the smallest tournaments just because I like golf. But what say you? Will you watch the U.S. Open this week or weekend? How many of you would have watched if Tiger was playing, but won’t even consider it at this point?

Stewart Cink joined Sporting News Radio with Two Live Stews to discuss his use of Twitter to connect with fans, the upcoming U.S. Open, what it means to not have Tiger Woods playing, if he buys the theories that he’s putting too much torque on the left knee and what advice he’d give to the average golfer.

On being the most followed golfer on Twitter with over 1 million followers:

“I feel like, as a golfer, it’s kind of hard to get your personality across to the fans using the telecast. It’s always good to keep your emotions in check so that translates to bore. I wanted to use Twitter to sort of let people know I’m a person, too. I’ve got a personality and I’ve got a lot in common with them, too.”

Previewing the U.S. Open at The Congressional:

“I can’t really give you a real good preview because I haven’t been up there since about six years ago. But, it’s a big course, it’ll be narrow, there’s a lot of elevation changes, the greens will be severe. … It’ll be a grueling test. It’ll be hot and pars will be at a premium. There will be a lot of holes where you need to save par with your wedge and your putter.”

Where is Tiger Woods at in terms of his future in golf?:

“I don’t really know how to answer that because I don’t know the extent of that injury. One thing I do know is it must be pretty bad or he would’ve attempted to play. Just to know that he’s not playing at all, that tells you something. Will it last a long time? There’s no way for any of us to know that unless you’ve checked his knee out or whatever’s hurting. … I know we’re going to miss him when he’s gone because Tiger Woods drives the bus in terms of the popularity of golf. It doesn’t matter what he’s ranked, he’s going to be driving the bus until he retires. We need him to come back out there and be healthy and play great again.”

Do you buy into those saying he’s putting too much pressure on his left knee?:

“If that’s the case then all of us would have knee problems because we all put a lot of torque on our knees. As you know, guys can all do the same thing and something’s going to hurt on me that doesn’t hurt on you, and vice versa. It’s not always going to affect everybody the same way, but eventually we do know that the golf swing is not natural and if you repeat it a lot of times over the years, eventually something’s going to break down.”

His best golf tip for the average weekend player:

“You’ve got to practice that short game — getting out of the bunkers and chipping up on the green. If you can learn, instead of making doubles from around the green, just making bogeys, where you can get on the green in one and then two-putt at the worst, that’s going to shave strokes off like you wouldn’t believe.”

Listen to Stewart Cink on Sporting News Radio here

Daly does the right thing in not sharing what Woods said to him explicitly when they spoke about what had been going on with Woods’ relationship with ex-wife Elin Nordgren, but Daly says just enough for me to form my own conclusions. They are: Woods wasn’t getting laid enough at home, which in turn led him to explore his curiosities outside the marriage.  It’s not clear whether Elin was holding out on him because Tiger was clearly being unfaithful or if her not fulfilling Woods’ desires prompted him to commit adultery. Anyway, what was also interesting was how Daly talked to Woods about how he could have avoided this whole fiasco if he had just gone straight to the media and told them what he had just said to Daly. ‘Long John’ believes — and apparently Tiger agreed at the time when Daly said this — that Woods’ story would have been a one day story rather than a sensationalistic drawn out affair dominating newspaper and tabloid headlines for nearly a year.

Daly joined 790 The Zone in Atlanta to talk about his relationship with Ryan Mallett and Jon Gruden, how those relationships came about, how he and Gruden both learn from each other, why Gruden is a great psychologist and the ultimate motivator for him, what lessons and things he talks to Mallett about as the mercurial quarterback gets set to embark on his NFL career, and then the really good stuff starts. Daly then fields questions and rambles on about Tiger Woods, his talk with him at The PGA last year about what happened two Thanksgivings ago, how he told Tiger that the whole mess he’s had to deal with never would have materialized had he just been candid right away about what was going on in his life, his philosophy on the expectations of sex within marriages, and his reflections about winning majors early in his career, how he then wasted talent with delusions of grandeur in the later years of the ’90s, and how it’s just a matter of finding some confidence and catching a break now that he’s recommitted himself to his game and making better decisions off the golf course.

How many folks have mentioned his recent sit down with Ryan Mallett and Jon Gruden

“It’s been pretty cool. I’ve had a lot of tweets and stuff.”

So how did that come about:

“Well me and Coach Gruden have been friends for quite a long time. We played some golf together, and me residing in Clearwater, Florida, I get to hang out with him a lot. I call him…he’s my new psychologist now.”

On what makes Gruden a better shrink than the laundry list of others he’s seen over the years:

“I know one thing — that man can motivate you. That man’s unbelievable, Coach Gruden is. I miss him coaching, but I think there’s probably not anybody in this world that doesn’t like what he’s doing for Monday Night Football either. He’s awesome.”

On why he feels the need to want to be around Gruden for psychological purposes:

“Because no matter the situation, he’s always positive, he’s always fired up, he’s just a great guy to talk to. Now, I do talk to another guy about a lot of other issues that’s helped me especially this last two or three years. But Coach, he does it to where you get right at first. He doesn’t take any crap from anybody. The way I feel when I talk to him is hey, his time is valuable so I might as well get something out of it. And he’s the same way when I help him with his golf game.  Before I went to Hilton Head last week, we played a couple days and I worked with his golf game. And I said, hey, I’m the same way, and that’s why we get along so good. We try to get what we can out of each other. We’re really, really good friends, but we learn from each other.”

On why he has been a part of the mentoring process of Mallett:

“Yeah, no doubt, and I think that’s why Coach wanted me there — not because I love the Razorbacks so much. I’ve gotten to be pretty good friends with Ryan and got to watch him probably, on the sidelines, ten to twelve games. It was just awesome to see him in action. But he’s a good kid, and he’s young and it’s unbelievable how good he is.”

How not having anybody to help him with little things like how to handle the media when he was starting out as a pro golfer played a big role in wanting to help Mallett:

“No doubt. Through the tour, we didn’t start getting media sessions with our rookies and all that stuff until the middle of probably ’94, ’95, ’96. So even when I came out, the Tour didn’t have anything set up for something that I did that fast. I mean, nobody could be ready for it. We didn’t have these meetings to talk and have media specialists come in to help and all that stuff. Where now for Ryan, the NFL has all that stuff; Major League Baseball has all that stuff; hockey has all that; golf has all that. Any major sport professionally, they all have that to help them get through it. And my only thing that hurt me the most was I wish I had thought about the question a little bit more before I answered it. And I think a lot of athletes can relate to that, especially because the media loves to get you when you’re in a bad moment. Like for us, if you have a bad round, they want to talk to you right then because they want to get something out of you that they can use, whether it’s positive or negative. And you know the media today, it’s mainly negative. So my point to him was just be careful with the answers that are being asked of you, and that there’s no time limit on an interview.”

On also taking to Mallett about personal responsibility and how things might have been different for him if he had made better choices:

“Yeah, by some of the answers I might have given and by some of the stupid stuff I did. I mean, I set myself up a lot back in the day to get ridiculed. And I deserved it, because I did some stupid things — whether I quit on the course, walked off, or threw a club, or did something stupid off the golf course — destroy a hotel room or whatever, I mean I’ve done it all. Luckily everything I’ve done was legal; I’ve never done drugs thank God. But you don’t think about things when you’re on top of the world, you don’t think about those type of things. And when I look back I wish I did, because whether it’s one fan, millions of fans, thousands, your peers, the peers that you’re playing with, your teammates, whatever — when you do something bad, it’s going to hurt not only you but someone else. And that takes a lot away from you as an individual. I mean, you can look at what Tiger’s going through. It’s embarrassing. Is he embarrassed? Hell yeah he’s embarrassed. Any time we do something bad we’re embarrassed, but the way I’ve felt good about myself is I’ve always been honest.  Whether I’ve done good or bad, I’ve always told the truth. And it gives the media a one-day story instead of a prolonged eight, nine months story that Tiger’s was.”

Has he had the chance to say that to Tiger, and would he if he hasn’t had the chance to?

“I did last year at The PGA. And what we talked about I couldn’t even fathom kind of telling you guys because it’s a personal conversation, but it made me relieved of what Tiger was going through. Do I blame Tiger for what he did, and does he? Yes. But does he have a reason? Yes. And that reason is something I don’t want to talk about. But I told him, ‘if you would have come out that night after the incident and told the world what was going on — not listened to your agents, not listened to anybody else,  just what your heart said and thought what you just told me — this story would have ended in one day.’ And he said ‘I know, I know. I just had to listen to everybody.’  I said ‘that’s the thing you’ve got to understand Tiger, you’re the greatest player that’s ever played, you don’t have to listen to anybody, you have to listen to what your heart tells you to do.’ And he says ‘I thought about talking to the media right after it all happened, I really did, and told them the truth and told them what was going on. But I was told not to.’ So, I don’t blame him in that aspect of listening to the bad advice, which I totally think he got throughout the whole situation.”

Wait, is he talking about that first Thanksgiving night, or after when all the sordid details emerged:

“Afterwards, afterwards. I think everything afterwards that everybody found out about.”

So, there was some way to get people to at least partially understand what was going on had he come out and spoken candidly?

“Exactly. I mean, you’re looking at a guy who all the way through his college days, all there was was golf, golf, golf, golf golf. And then there was more golf. And then there was more golf. The guy never had a chance to live a life, and you know, certain things that people go through they find out they like and don’t like. And as a young man or whatever, there’s certain things you like and certain things you don’t like. He found out late what he really liked because he was never around it. He didn’t have a chance to find out what women were like and what girls were like that much until he was in his late teens, late late, almost 20. I don’t think folks realize that.”

But doesn’t everybody lose the right to have sex with others after making the decision to get married?

“Well you should if your wife’s good and makes love to you when you want to be made love to, and does things with you and wants to do things with you, and wants to support you, and wants to be with you in your career, wants to take the selfish side of the player. I mean, in this sport, in major sports no matter what, even a guy that runs a multi-billion dollar corporation — a woman has to understand that it’s a lot on a person’s shoulders to deal with. You can either be a part of it, supportive and keep going, and not go your materialistic ways that I’ve been through. My exes, if you look at my life, they just quit supporting me. Plus, they didn’t want to have sex anymore. And when that happens — and I’ve always been straight up front with every one of them — I said ‘if you’re not going to give it to me, I am going to go get it somewhere else.’ And that’s just the way I’ve been whether there’s a ring on my finger or not. Is that adultery? Maybe so, but from what I understand, when you’re married they’re supposed to give it to you.”

So Woods should have gone up to a podium and said ‘I’m not getting it anymore, I’ve had enough’:

“Exactly. That’s what I did.”

And that would have kept the story from blowing up into the media circus that it became?

“I think so. You wouldn’t have had 127 or 128 women come out and say they had sex with Tiger. I mean, if people really believe that Tiger had sex with 127, then we’re not really as smart or common sense as we think we are. I mean, come on.”

If he felt like he threw away some of his natural and talent:

“I think in the ’90s, I really wasted my talent. Because I had won two majors already, and you sit there thinking about getting to 18 majors and tying Nicklaus. And I think just winning those two was so tough, I’m going ‘I don’t think I can get to Nicklaus’ record. And then when you see Tiger coming out, and by then I think he had won….right around 2002 I think he had won like 8, 10, somewhere in there. It made me realize that I’m in a sport where, hey, if I get my crap together and start working on my game and doing better, there’s a chance I can win some more golf tournaments. So I’m definitely committed again. I’ve been sober almost two and a half years now, lost 130 pounds. So I’m on the right track. Now it’s just a matter of finding the confidence after the bad injuries in ’07 from a flash camera that tore my shoulder and my ribs up. I’ve just got to find the confidence, I’m doing everything else right.”

If he could play one course with four people, where would it be and with who:

“It’d be like Angelina Jolie, Drew Barrymore, I still love Meg Ryan…It’d be all girls. It’d be wherever they want to play.”

Listen here to Daly with Mayhem in the AM on 790 The Zone in Atlanta

I thought for a few moments and opined about how it would be fun to see an American win it, so thought of Bo Van Pelt. But the second name that came to mind was Charl Schwartzel. “He hasn’t been here before, no way,” my friend said. I didn’t really have an argument at the time, even though I later learned Schwartzel has been rock solid in majors lately. And there was no way either of us could have predicted Schwartzel’s furious finish.

The South African became the first player to birdie each of the last four holes to win the Masters and the green jacket that comes with it. By the time that run had ended, nobody in our vicinity could help but root for the guy.

Charl Schwartzel joined The Dan Patrick Show to discuss what he’s done with the green jacket since he won it, if he was prepared for the noise at Augusta, what the win means for South Africa, when he realized he could win, which players he was most concerned about, what it was like to see Tiger high on the leaderboard, why he got aggressive to make his final putt when he could have two-putted for the win and where he got the name Charl.

Has he taken the green jacket off yet?:

“Definitely [I slept in it]. I’m not taking it off.”

Was he prepared for the noise level of fans all around him on other tees and greens?:

“This was my second year. Last year I experienced all the roars that go around Augusta. I was pretty prepared that it was going to be quite loud out there and it sure was. Every single hole you walked up to there was someone doing something. … I thought it was a very, very exciting day.”

How big is this back in South Africa?:

“I think it’ll be big. I don’t think I actually realize quite what it means. I’ve received so many text messages and people are phoning. I think more people were watching than I thought there would be.”

When did he realize he could win?:“After that shot, I chipped in on one and that just got things going really well. Then, obviously making the eagle on three and Rory having bogeyed the first, all of the sudden now we were all square. … There was obviously a lot of holes to go … but you just needed to finish the job. Tiger was making such a big move and he was tied for the lead and it was all going to come down to who makes the birdies on the back nine.”

Who was he most concerned about?:

“Obviously we were looking at Rory and he was leading until he had that hiccup on No. 10. I was on the 12th tee box. … Up until then, I was only looking at Rory. Then, to be honest, the leaderboard became a blur to me. I looked at them, but I didn’t understand what I was seeing because everyone, there were so many guys, all of the sudden now, that had a chance of winning. By the time Adam Scott made that birdie on 16, he was the guy we needed to beat.”

What was it like to see Tiger’s name on the board?:

“You almost expected it. I think he’s been so close lately, playing good golf, and it was just a matter of time. … It was exciting. It’s a thing that you dream of. You see him win so many majors and it was nice to compete against him.”

Why did he try to make his last putt instead of lagging it and making the easy par?:

“I think the most difficult thing in golf is to tell someone, ‘All you have to do is two-putt.’ … The greens were looking like glass and had been trampled on all day and you’re standing over this 14-foot putt and asking yourself how you are going to two-putt this thing. So I practiced that putt in the practice round and I said, ‘You know what? Why don’t you just make it?’”

Explaining the name Charl:

“My grandfather was actually Charles and, I don’t know, my mom didn’t like the name Charles, so she just took the -es. That was going to be my name and she changed it. There’s a lot of Charl’s in South Africa.”

Listen to Charl Schwartzel on The Dan Patrick Show here