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Tiger Woods' jilted swing coach hits back at critics

Tiger Woods ended his partnership with swing coach Sean Foley after the Masters © Getty Images

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Tiger Woods' former swing coach Sean Foley insists he has nothing but 'love' for the 14-time major champion, who returns from a four-month absence to deal with a back injury at the Hero World Challenge this week.

Foley, who was fired in August and replaced by the unheralded Chris Como, said Woods dealt with the situation with class, in stark contrast to his split with Hank Haney via text message in 2009.

Haney went on to sting Woods with a candid insight into their time together in his 2012 book 'The Big Miss', but the 38-year-old seems to have ended his working relationship with Foley - no stranger to controversy himself - on far better terms.

"Tiger called me and we had this very heartfelt discussion," Foley told www.scoregolf.com. "I know the state I found him in and so does he. When I first started with Tiger his life was in a difficult place and to be there and be supportive and build our relationship, I'm grateful for that.

"We came to a point where we weren't communicating as well as we needed to and we didn't want to jeopardise our friendship. I love TW. We still talk. I'm very proud of the way we handled the situation - in a very classy way."

Woods is undeserving of much of the criticism he receives, Foley insists, pointing to jibes about his reputation as a poor tipper and the likely reaction had he, rather than Phil Mickelson, rounded on US Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson after the Gleneagles defeat in September.

"It's s just b******t," Foley said. "I've seen him tip local caddies $400. How come he didn't mention the $300m Tiger has raised for kids? Tiger is the epitome of the double-edged sword. Anything he does great doesn't get mentioned; anything he doesn't is all over the place.

"Can you even imagine what the fallout would have been if it was him and not Mickelson who had called out Tom Watson at the Ryder Cup?"

Foley, whose methods have been suggested as a potential cause for exacerbating Woods' back problems, never won a major during his three years with the player still chasing Jack Nicklaus' record 18-major haul.

But the American, who also works with Justin Rose and Hunter Mahan, insists he is proud of his achievements with Woods.

"Tiger was player of the year [last year]," Foley said. "He won five times in eight weeks and was in contention in three majors. The critics can say what they want but in 2012 and 2013 he was in the top two of strokes gained tee to green - that is equivalent to his best years out there.

"Look, nobody wants to see him win five more majors than me. Let's hope 20 years on they're talking about all the millions he has raised for kids, instead of how he doesn't tip. Which is just more b******t."

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