Wednesday, November 15, 2000
Tiger Woods says he is in Thailand to win
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — Tiger Woods, shrugging off protests
by Nike workers, wants nothing more this week than to win the
Johnnie Walker Classic.
The world's No. 1 golfer, who recently signed a $100 million endorsement
deal with Nike Inc., will tee off Thursday in the tournament,
hoping to recapture the title he won two years ago.
“I would love to launch the New Year with a victory, (so)
this tournament is very important,” he told The Associated
Press on Wednesday.
“The sole reason I go to a tournament is to play for a win.
If you don't have that attitude, then there is no sense in going.”
Woods, whose mother is a Thai, is a national hero in Thailand
and has been under intense media glare even before his arrival
on Tuesday to play at the par-72, 6,986-yard Alpine layout, designed
by Ron Garl.
On Tuesday, he received an honorary doctorate from a local university
in sports science. Outside the hotel ballroom where the ceremony
was held, about two dozen activists protested to demand that Nike
provide its 70,000 workers in Thailand with better working conditions.
The protesters urged Woods to speak on their behalf with Nike
executives, pointing out that his one-day salary is as much as
the daily wages of 14,000 Nike workers in Thailand.
Nike, the Beaverton, Ore., company, subcontracts smaller factories
in Thailand, Vietnam and other countries to produce its shoes
and garments. Nike says its working conditions are among the best,
and that its workers are generally satisfied with wages.
Woods did not speak about the protest at the news conference,
but said he could have never imagined the “hysteria”
around his success.
“No one can ever prepare you for that,” he said. “All
you know as a kid is to hit a golf shot and try to win tournaments
and beat your heroes. No one ever thinks about the other side
of it.”
He said he had high goals and expectations this year, but couldn't
meet them all. His second failure in recent weeks was at Valderrama,
Spain, at the World Golf Championships.
“I was able to accomplish some of them but not all. But that's
what you need ... to strive for something else,” he said.
Woods' main rival Thursday in the 132-man field is expected to
be Spain's Sergio Garcia.
Woods' presence will raise every player's level, he said.
“He is playing at a great level and we have to try and keep
up with him. We are all trying to improve, and thanks to him we
are doing that,” he said.
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