DUBLIN, Ohio — Tiger Woods didn’t hold back, saying Friday that his former coach, Hank Haney, “deserved” to be suspended from his radio show for disparaging remarks he made on Wednesday concerning women’s golf.
Haney, who has a Sirius XM radio show, was suspended on Thursday after admitting he couldn’t name six players on the LPGA tour and then predicting that a Korean golfer would probably win the U.S. Women’s Open, saying he would go with “Lee,” and if he didn’t have to say a first name, “I’d get a bunch of them right.”
Later in the show, Haney apologized and did so again on Twitter.
But there has been considerable criticism, including from former U.S. Women’s Open winner Michelle Wie and the PGA Tour, which recommended the suspension.
“He deserved it,” Woods said Friday after his second round at the Memorial when asked about Haney’s suspension. “Just can’t look at life like that. And he obviously said what he meant, and he got what he deserved.”
Haney coached Woods during a period of great success, from 2004 to 2010. During that time, Woods won six major championship and a total of 31 PGA Tour titles. Haney resigned in May of 2010, not long after Woods returned due to a lengthy personal break. Two years later, Haney wrote a book called “The Big Miss,” in which he delved into his coaching relationship with Woods but also shared details about Woods’ private life.
Haney, 63, is a long-time golf instructor whose most prominent student prior to Woods was Mark O’Meara. He owns and operates several golf schools in the Dallas area.
Sirius XM said it was reviewing the status of Haney’s show going forward.