It was revealed on Monday that Tiger Woods said he was no longer working with former swing coach Sean Foley. Woods collaborated with swing coaches Butch Harmon from 1993-2004, Hank Haney from 2004-2010, and Foley from 2010 until Monday.
After four years, a number of injuries, the worst ranking (#58) of his career, and his worst PGA season (2013-2014), Woods has decided to part ways with Foley, the Canadian golf instructor. Perhaps the timing wasn't right, or bad luck consumed Woods from 2010 until 2014, but Foley is no longer and the golfer has no timetable to name a new swing coach. The 14-time major winner is currently taking 1-2 months off from golf.
"I'd like to thank Sean for his help as my coach and for his friendship," said Woods in a statement on his website. "Sean is one of the outstanding coaches in golf today, and I know he will continue to be successful with the players working with him. With my next tournament not until my World Challenge event at Isleworth in Orlando, this is the right time to end our professional relationship."
Woods was in the process of changing his swing for the third time in his 18-year professional career - something unheard of in the game of golf. Injuries likely derailed his success in doing so, but he still recorded eight PGA wins with Foley as his coach. However, none of them were majors. The former No. 1 golfer in the world underwent back surgery in March to relieve a pinched nerve, which contributed to his poor play this season. He only played in seven events this year and took home $108,275 in winnings - the lowest of his career.
But Tiger's parting with Foley was likely done so the golfer could start anew. He's taking a short hiatus from golf to improve his strength and ensure his back is pain-free and said he will not participate in tournament until December. Foley, who still coaches PGA Tour pros Justin Rose, Lee Westwood, Noh Seung-yul's, and others, seemingly had no hard feelings with the breakup and wishes Tiger the best.
"This is not a bad day, not even a sad day. It was a complete honor to work with him, and he couldn't have been better about this," said Foley, in a phone interview with ESPN, via this article. "If anything, I'm so grateful for what I was able to go through with him. These sorts of things are inevitable. Like in any industry, people part ways."
As Woods is on the road to recovery to get back into contention, Foley has some work to do with his players as the final three playoff events will take place over the next three weeks.
