RORY MCILROY SAYS an analyst who accused Tiger Woods of bending the rules was completely wrong and “should be dealt with.”
The two-time major winner, one of the star draws at the $8.5 million WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai, criticised the Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee.
World number one Woods broke his silence on the issue on Monday, saying it was up to the Golf Channel to deal with Chamblee, who accused the American of being “a little cavalier with the rules”.
McIlroy’s comments, recorded by TV cameras, will be seen as ramping up the pressure on the Golf Channel to take action.
“Yeah, I think Brandel was completely wrong. I don’t think he has the authority to say anything like that about Tiger Woods,” he said.
People wouldn’t know who Brandel Chamblee was if it wasn’t for Tiger Woods, so I am completely against what he said and I think he should be dealt with in the right way.
Woods, who is not playing in the Shanghai tournament that starts tomorrow, said the matter was now in the hands of the Golf Channel.
“All I am going to say is that I know I am going forward but then I don’t know what the Golf Channel is going to do or not, so then that is up to them.”
“The whole issue has been very disappointing as [Chamblee] didn’t really apologise and he sort of reignited the whole situation.
But so as far as I am concerned I’m going to put it behind me and move forward, so the ball really is in the court of the Golf Channel and what they are prepared to do.”
Chamblee initially took to Twitter to apologise to Woods, but he then inflamed the issue again by saying he stood by the accusation, which he made in an article for golf.com.
In the article, Chamblee gave Woods an “F” grade for this season and also recounted an anecdote about when he was caught cheating in a maths test at school.
Woods has been hit with a number of penalties this year, most notably at the US Masters, when he flirted with disqualification over an improper drop.
Woods’s manager Mark Steinberg, who raised the prospect of court action in a statement attacking Chamblee’s article, said: “I’m all done talking about it and it’s now in the hands of the Golf Channel.
“That’s Tiger’s view and that’s mine, and all we want to do is move forward and whether the Golf Channel moves forward as well, then we will have to wait and see.
We’ve now said our piece, and those who know me know that I don’t put out statements very often, and I said what I said so let’s just see if both parties now move forward.
