Golfweek - Golf News Magazine

WINDERMERE, Fla. – Things you only get to see on an early Sunday morning behind the gates of Iditarod, er... Isleworth Country Club:

1.) Tiger Woods on a skateboard.

2.) Tiger Woods on a skateboard being pulled down the street by a pair of leashed dogs.

“Kind of crazy,” said Georgia freshman Russell Henley, standing on Isleworth’s putting green Monday afternoon.

He turned around and pointed down Payne Stewart Drive. “He was right there,” said Henley, adding that Woods’ wife, Elin, was trailing behind, pushing daughter Sam Alexis in a carriage.

Stanford coach Conrad Ray said Woods had planned to be elsewhere last weekend, but “extended his break here for a few more days” when he found out his alma mater and reigning national champion Stanford was coming to town for the annual Isleworth-UCF Collegiate Championship.

Ray played with Woods at Stanford in the mid-90s, and said he still talks or exchanges text messages with him every couple weeks. “Tiger’s a good buddy,” said Ray.

He had figured Woods might make an appearance over the weekend, but kept his players guessing.

“It was a big week for them and it’s a long trip for us anyways,” said Ray, whose team ended in a tie for ninth. “So I just tried to play it mellow there.”

According to Ray, Stanford freshman Sihwan Kim said he could “barely pull the trigger” when Woods rolled up in a golf cart Saturday during Stanford’s practice round.

“Understandable, I guess,” Ray said. Woods tagged along for about nine holes, then headed home.

Stanford sophomore Jordan Cox was happy with that. “Before we got here, I just thought it’d be really cool if he came out to watch us and if I got to meet him for like a second,” he said.

Before the trip, Ray hinted only to senior captain Rob Grube that it could be more than that. “I knew that we were probably going to spend some time with him, but I didn’t know exactly what it was,” he said.

“Coach wanted us to focus on the tournament.”

So the Stanford five woke up Sunday morning unaware they would be watching football from Tiger’s living room later that afternoon.

Understandable, I guess.

Sophomore Joseph Bramlett thought it was rather generous of Woods just to show up again Sunday to watch most of Stanford’s first round.

“I never really thought I’d be sitting on his couch,” Bramlett said.

Ray waited until after the round to tell his players that Woods had extended an invitation to the team to come over to his Isleworth estate for dinner that evening.

Only two of Stanford’s five players declined. (That is a joke.)

Coolness ensued, as did a barbecue. “I won’t soon forget it,” said junior Dodge Kemmer.

The main course featured “some mean ribs,” according to Grube. There was salad, corn and beans. For beverages, Tiger offered water and soda. Grube asked if there was any “Tigerade.”

“He was like, ‘No, but we’re working on it,' ” Grube said.

They met Elin. They met Sam.

They hung out for 2 1/2 hours talking golf and sports, watching golf and football and baseball. Grube says Woods was rooting for his Oakland Raiders, but was still “pretty excited” about the Stanford football team’s upset of USC two weeks ago and victory over Arizona Saturday.

Of course, this leads to a very important question:

How big is the TV?

“TV’s big,” Grube said.

“Plenty big,” Bramlett said.

“Fifty inches or so?” said Cox. “But there are two other TV’s on top of it,” which were set Sunday to the Golf Channel and Mike Weir’s victory at the Fry’s Electronics Open.

“He’s totally in touch with everything,” Grube said.

Cox said he was often too distracted to watch any of the televisions, which were surrounded by enough trophies to hold all the TV remotes in Florida. “Masters trophies and stuff, Claret jugs, everything,” Cox said. “I was just kind of in awe.”

Grube said he asked Woods “pretty much everything I’d ever wondered about,” from how he deals with anger and frustration on the golf course to his preshot routines.

Kim said Woods answered every question, “which was very nice.” Bramlett said he was “very cool about it, really down to earth.” Cox said he seemed “really into what we were doing and wanted to help us,” which made it even more special.

“I wish I would have recorded it,” said Grube. “I probably learned more in 2 1/2 hours than I learned in two years.”

Ray said he thinks there’s a side to Woods that would love to be a coach.

“He really had some neat things to say to the guys and some good thoughts,” Ray said.

“He’s definitely wise.”

But can he do a kickflip?

Posted: 10/23/2007

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