Addressing Tiger Woods' DUI arrest early Monday morning, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan yesterday said that the Tour "would be there to help him" through this time, according to Doug Ferguson of the AP. Monahan: "Tiger's statement on Monday night, where he apologized and he said he was going to do everything he can in his power to make sure this doesn't happen again, I think says everything. He's a member of our family, and we're going to do everything we can to help and support him." Ferguson notes any punishment from the Tour over incidents such as Woods' are "not made public." A Tour spokesperson "declined to comment on whether Woods is subject to any penalty 'conduct unbecoming,' keeping to the longtime PGA Tour policy of not discussing whether players are disciplined." Golfer Steven Bowditch was arrested during the Waste Management Phoenix Open "for extreme DUI" and he "has not missed a tournament for which he has been eligible since then." The "only known suspensions in recent years" were John Daly for alcohol-related issues in '09 and Matt Every in '10 for a misdemeanor marijuana charge, but those are known "only because they made it public" (AP, 6/1).
ON EVERYBODY'S MIND: Golf Digest’s Jaime Diaz said reaction to Woods among players at this week's Memorial Tournament is a "little mixed." The dashboard video, which was released last night, and mugshot are "kind of overwhelming in terms of the immediate reaction." Diaz: "There is kind of something overhanging the tournament. Certainly, everybody’s a little worried about Tiger and the players care about Tiger. Especially in private moments with them, you notice that there's just sadness and there’s a sense of ‘I hope my guy gets through this.’ In a sense, Tiger’s a model, in a golf sense, for all these guys and they appreciate his excellence” (“Morning Drive,” Golf Channel, 6/1).
