Tiger Woods may be listening to his critics, and not liking what he's hearing.
USA TODAY Sports' For the Win posted a tweet from ESPN's Jason Sobel, reporting on Woods straying off topic when asked about his play at the Greenbriar Classic over the weekend.
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Woods began to talk about the role social media plays in sports and sports commentary. Let's just say he's not a fan.
"Tiger Woods: 'Social media has changed the world. Everyone has an opinion, just like everyone has an ...' Didn't finish sentence. Just smiled," Sobel tweeted.
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Woods' comment could be in response to the criticism he received after playing his best tournament of the year - besides the Masters - posing a 7-under 273 and finishing tied for 32nd in the event, six strokes off the pace.
The Golf Channel reported that Woods posted his first bogey-free scorecard in 55 rounds on Sunday, his lowest 72-hole score in relation to par since the 2013 BMW Championship and his fewest strokes for four rounds since the 2013 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, site of his last victory.
But he had more critics beyond social media.
Golf.com asked several golf media members to assess Tiger's play, and while some reviews were favorable, some were not.
"Meh. I'd like to say it's a bold step on the path toward full recovery," Golf Magazine's Josh Sens wrote. "But it's hard to get too worked up about a bogey-free round on an easy course in a relatively low-wattage event. When Tiger starts putting it all together on a weekend in the moments that matter most to him (read: the majors), then we'll have cause for excitement. For now, getting in a lather over his middle-of-the-pack finish at The Greenbrier is mostly a reminder of how low we've set the bar for Tiger 4.0."
"Tiger's physical game is clearly on the upswing," Sports Illustrated's Gary Van Sickle wrote. "He reduced the number of bad swings, but as Peter Kostis and Nick Faldo pointed out on CBS, he reverts to his old form when he faces a tough driving hole and makes a poor swing. That's mental more than physical and something Tiger can improve. So he has reason to be optimistic on a course he has played well in the past."
"Tour-level golf is more about the quality of a player's misses than his good shots," Golf.com managing editor Eamon Lynch wrote. "All of these guys can hit superb shots, but how much damage do their poor shots inflict? Tiger's bad shots are crippling to his score. Greenbrier showed that when Tiger hits it well now he's an average Tour pro. That's progress of sorts, given where he has been, but hardly cause for optimism heading into St. Andrews."
Of course, the best way for Tiger to silence his critics: Win (especially a major). His next chance is the British Open from July 16-19 at St. Andrews.
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