The action on the greens at the TPC Sawgrass for the Players Championship might be over, but the drama surrounding tournament champion Tiger Woods still continues with two more marshals backing Woods' claim regarding a distraction that occurred during the tournament with a rival golfer allegedly caused by Woods.
During the weekend action where Woods, the No.1-ranked golfer in the world, won his second Players Championship and his fourth tournament of the year, rival Sergio Garcia claimed that Woods had caused a distraction during one of Garcia's holes on Saturday which caused him to take a bad shot.
Sports Illustrated issued a story on Monday including the head marshal plus one other marshal who claimed that Woods did not have the okay to get ready for his own shot. Woods had reportedly cause a distraction when he retrieved a golf club from his bag while Garcia played through.
John North, the head marshal, said of Woods that he was "disappointed to hear him make those remarks."
"We're there to help the players and enhance the experience of the fans. He was saying what was good for him. It lacked character," he said.
However, on Tuesday, two other marshals claimed that Woods indeed had sought permission from marshals to play, and that there was miscommunication between them.
"It is not true and definitely unfair to Tiger," marshal Brian Nedrich told the Florida Times-Union. "That's because I was the one Tiger heard say that Sergio had hit."
Both Nedrich and marshal Lance Paczkowski claimed that the golf superstar had tried to clear the shot with officials. According to Paczkowski, he had even asked Woods if needed any more fans moved at the time.
"He said, 'No ... I'm good,'" Paczkowski said. "We talk to players all the time, if we need to in regards to their needs and crowd control."
"The comments from the marshals in today's [Times-Union] story definitively show that Tiger was telling the truth about being told Sergio had hit," said Mark Steinberg, Woods' agent, in a statement. "I hope this demonstrates to some reporters the importance of accuracy and not jumping to misplace conclusions."