Woods' anger will lead to U.S. victory

STRAFFAN, Ireland -- Sept. 21, 2006 — -- I wouldn't want to be Trevor White today. In fact, I'm pretty sure Trevor White doesn't want to be Trevor White today.

White is the editor of The Dubliner magazine. Or at least he is until Tiger Woods releases the hounds from the law firm of Cut, Throat & Associates. That's what happens when you publish a nude photo purportedly of Woods' wife, Elin, along with captions that say she can be seen "in a variety of sweaty poses on porn sites across the web."

You could have steamed a pair of linen pants on Woods' forehead Wednesday, that's how upset he was about the recently published story that featured this headline: "Ryder Cup Filth For Ireland." And thanks to the spectacularly ill-advised story and photos, I now predict a Woods-led U.S. victory over the Europeans -- both in golf and in the courtroom.

During an early afternoon news conference, Woods struggled to keep his composure as he opened the session with a statement about the magazine article. Much like his poignant sobfest after winning the British Open two months ago, this was a rare Woods moment when he didn't, or couldn't, hide his emotions.

"It's hard to be diplomatic about this when you have so much emotion involved, when my wife is involved in this," Woods said on Wednesday."My wife, yes, she has been a model prior and she did some bikini photos," Woods said. "But to link her to porn Web sites and such is unacceptable. And I do not accept that at all. Neither does our team."

And later: "... I know the media can be a little bit difficult at times, but when you [pause] ... it's hard to be diplomatic about this when you have so much emotion involved, when my wife is involved in this."

The Dubliner didn't limit its story to Elin. It pretty much insulted every U.S.-born player and his selection of spouse.

"Most American golfers are married to women who cannot keep their clothes on in public," the story stated. "Is it too much to ask that they leave them at home for the Ryder Cup?"

I'm sorry, I'm confused. Leave the wives at home, or the clothes? And by the way, Elin Nordegren is from Sweden. That's in Europe.