Hank Haney, the primary coach of Tiger Woods, has officially declared his resignation.
Tiger Woods and his swing coach, Hank Haney, have ended their professional relationship.
Tiger Woods is once again suspending his participation in golf. The golfer, who holds the highest ranking in the world, has stated that he is experiencing difficulty in rotating his head due to inflammation in his neck joint.
Just a day after Woods made the announcement, Hank Haney, his swing coach of six years, also made an announcement: He decided to leave Tiger.
CBS News national correspondent Jeff Glor noted Haney was one of the few individuals Woods sought out to during his five months in solitude and subsequent recovery.
Together, the two have won 31 PGA events and six Majors.
Haney remarked on “The Early Show” Monday, it was time to move on.
“There’s just a time and a place for everything, I suppose. And six years is a long time. When you look at the lifespan of coaches, if you will, they all run their course.
I genuinely think that I probably taught Tiger everything I was going to teach him at this stage in his life and his career there wasn’t much I was going to tell him with his swing that was going to make a major difference. And it was just time to go on. I had a terrific time.”
Haney said he’s moving on to other initiatives, including his show on the Golf Channel called “Haney Project,” and his junior academy in Hilton Head, S.C.
But what was it like to be part of Woods’ inner circle?
Haney told “Early Show” presenter Harry Smith that Woods is a “very private person.”
“I really focused on his golf. But certainly I know him as a friend, too. And he’s not a bad man at all. He’s a friend that I think you can count on.”
He said, “But there’s no mistake about it, the great ones are distinct.”
As for Tiger’s affairs, Haney said he had no idea what was going on.
“Obviously there wasn’t probably too many people that didn’t know, but I was one of them,” he added. “I was entirely in the dark.”
Smith stated that it’s incredible how Woods could compartmentalize his professional golf life and his personal life.
“It’s interesting to everybody,” Haney answered. “But he’s awful strong mentally. This is a new challenge for him, another hurdle, and it’s definitely not easy.
I think he’s having a little trouble mentally now, there’s no doubt about it, but he’s a different person. He’s a tremendous competitor, he’s incredibly psychologically strong. And it is quite incredible when you look back at it.”
Haney said Woods can recover professionally.
“Tiger is a tremendous talent and he has an unbelievable work ethic. But he has a neck injury and a lot of mental difficulties that he’s dealing with – everything that’s going on in his life. So I think once his mind is free and he’s injury-free, sure, I can see him playing great again.”
However, Haney said he’s glad that Woods has accepted responsibility for his conduct.
“He’s striving to get better. He’s working on it every day. And I guess that’s all a man can do. He’s striving and trying to improve and attempting to lead a better life. You need to the give him credit for that.”
Glor noted the loss of Haney is just the latest challenge for Woods since his comeback to golf last month following a five-month layoff.
Many have long thought Woods would reclaim the squeaky-clean image that earned him an estimated $110 million last year off the course. Now there are growing concerns his supremacy on the course is over as well.
More than six months after a vehicle tragedy upended Woods’ career and marriage, the ripple effects still torment the world’s most famous golfer.
In February, Woods stated, “I was disloyal, I had affairs. I cheated.”
Questions surround the health of his marriage to wife Elin Nordegren who has been photographed without her wedding ring, and the probable custody fight building over their two young children.
David Dusek, deputy editor of Golf.com told CBS News, “We don’t have really any feeling for where he and Elin are in their relationship – if they’re going to stick it out, if there is going to be a divorce.”
Those troubles, along with a 45-day spell at a rehabilitation clinic, apparently for sex addiction, seem to have thrown the golfer off his game.
Woods has struggled terribly since finishing fourth at the Masters in April. He also failed to qualify for the finals at a competition in North Carolina. And eight days ago, he withdrew from The Players Championship owing to a neck ailment.
He told reporters, “I’m at a point where I just can’t continue anymore.”
Dusek added, “In order to be able to compete at the greatest level, to play really outstanding golf, he needs to have his home situation squared away to whatever it’s going to be.
Then, get his health situation in order, make sure his body is capable of handling the things he’s going to expect of it.”
On “The Early Show,” Glor revealed Woods is in Florida recuperating and receiving medical care for his neck. The earliest fans may see him play again is June 3 at The Memorial Tournament in Columbus, Ohio, when he wants to defend his championship.
