There’s no way Thursday’s actual golf match could have lived up to its hype. But who could have foreseen that the drama of the long-awaited Presidents Cup face-off between Tiger Woods and Adam Scott would end with the pre-game handshake between Woods and his ex-caddie, Steve Williams?
Fans of the New England Patriots and New York Jets, perhaps.
By now, the 7 & 6 drubbing that Woods and partner Steve Stricker suffered at the hands of Scott and KJ Choi — the worst defeat in Woods’ Presidents Cup career — is history. But the emotionless, begrudging grasp, with Woods extending his hand and Williams standing as far from his former employer as he could and still make contact, will live on forever. Just ask every NFL coach who’s had to undergo the awkwardness of the Bill Belichick Embrace.
Indeed, examining the entrails of a post-game meet-up between the Pats’ head coach and any of his colleagues became quite the parlor game after then-Jets HC Eric Mangini exposed the whole “Spygate” episode. There’s even a certain parallel between the animosity Belichick seemed to harbor for his former assistant coach after Mangini left his employ and the lack of loyalty Woods apparently perceived when Williams took a free-lance job with Scott while his boss was injured.
After Williams’ chest-thumping following Scott’s Bridgestone Invitational win, and Thursday’s Presidents Cup clobbering, the on-course Woods-Williams rivalry stands at Looper 2-Golfer 0. On the Belichick Handshake History scale (chronicled here by ESPN), however, we’d say Stevie has a lot to learn from Coach Hoodie.
(Emily Kay is a regular contributor to New England Golf Monthly. View all her articles here. You may also follow Kay on Twitter @golfexaminer.)
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