ShareThisSmart guy, that Tim Finchem.
On Monday, The Associated Press breaks a story quoting an anonymous PGA Tour official who claims Tiger Woods will be fined for publicly criticizing a rules official after winning the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
On Tuesday, the story is dead.
Or at least denied.
Finchem, the Tour commissioner, made sure of that.
Woods gets a phone call. Tour vice president Ty Votaw tells anyone willing to listen at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn., site of this week's PGA Championship, that no fine is coming. Damage control accomplished.
"The commissioner was surprised when he read the article," Votaw told reporters.
You better believe he was.
Tour officials never announce fines and almost never comment on them. And Finchem would rather sing "Friends In Low Places" with John Daly than let anyone know that Woods, the world's No. 1 player and the worldwide face of the game, was being fined -- especially for questioning a rule official's obviously wrongheaded decision.
So there's no way to know if the Tour really fined Woods, or just planned to, or if someone simply got some bad information.
But during his interview session Tuesday, Woods refused to back away from his criticism of John Paramor, the official who put the final pair on the clock late in Sunday's round.
"I thought they would have used better judgment on that," Woods said, "considering we were the ones that were probably going to win the golf tournament."
For those who missed it: Woods and Padraig Harrington were locked in a tight, back-nine duel at Firestone Country Club when Paramor intervened on the 16th tee. Feeling rushed, Harrington, proceeded to triple-bogey the hole. The drama was gone. Woods won by four strokes.
"It certainly influenced how we played and influenced the outcome of the tournament," Woods said of Paramor's slow-play warning. "That's not how you want to have the tournament come to an end."
As usual, Woods was right. Paramor's warning was as unnecessary as it was silly. Woods was also right to say what he did.
And while no sports league likes to have players publicly rip its referees -- usually, such criticism results in significant fines -- Finchem has no real choice but to tolerate it when the rip job comes from the Tour's meal ticket.
Remember: After this weekend, the golf season is, for most of us, over.
The FedEx Cup playoffs? Let's face it. Woods is the only reason anyone other than hardcore Tour fans might even think about watching golf during football season. So Finchem isn't about to give him a reason to stay away.
Especially now.
Especially as Woods prepares for the PGA, his last chance to win a major this year.
And given what we've seen lately -- he has won back-to-back tournaments on his way to Hazeltine -- you've got to like his chances.
It's not that Woods can't lose, but he can't lose if he plays well. Oh, he might be pushed by a Kenny Perry or a Steve Stricker or even Harrington, the defending champion. There's always a chance Phil Mickelson will show up with his "A" game.
But Woods, and Woods alone, will determine what happens this weekend.
He's the story, win or lose.
And Finchem is smart enough to know that.
(Ray McNulty is a columnist for Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers in Florida. This column reflects his opinion. He can be reached at ray.mcnulty(at)scripps.com or on the Web at www.tcpalm.com.)
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