"It was unfortunate" – When Tiger Woods backed a Golf Channel anchor after ‘regretful’ comments

Tiger Woods has won numerous titles and accolades on the PGA Tour and is regarded as one of the greatest golfers of all time. His three-decade-long career has included several memorable anecdotes that people recall fondly.

One such incident happened during the 2008 Mercedes-Benz Championship when Golf Channel anchor Kelly Tilghman used the word "lynch" in reference to Tiger, sparking a huge uproar within the golf community. She said that the youngsters should "lynch him in a back alley" to end his dominance.

As a result, Tilghman was suspended for a couple of weeks. Later, Woods commented on the controversy, stating there was no malice in her statement.

"It was unfortunate," Woods said, as per Sportsnet. "Kelly and I did speak. There was no ill intent. She regrets saying it. In my eyes, it’s all said and done."

Woods added that he didn't feel obligated to comment on the issue.

"It was more media-driven than anything else," he continued.

He added that several people reached out to him because they were curious about what he thought.

"I tell them she's a friend of mine, which she is," he added. "I've known her for 10 or 11 years now. We all say things we do regret, and that's certainly a moment she does regret."

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"I'm not tournament sharp yet" - Tiger Woods shares important update on his fitness

During the pre-event press conference for the Hero World Challenge, Tiger Woods shared a crucial update about his injury.

"I'm not tournament sharp yet, no. I'm still not there," he said on Wednesday, December 4. "These are 20 of the best players in the world and I'm not sharp enough to compete against them at this level. So when I'm ready to compete and play at this level, then I will."

Last year, Tiger Woods mentioned that he was looking forward to playing at least one event a month but he could play only five events this season.

"I didn't think my back was going to go like it did this year," he continued. "It was quite painful throughout the end of the year and hence I had another procedure done to it to alleviate the pain I had going down my leg. So whether my commitment going forward is once a month, yeah, I could say that all over again, but I truly don't know.

The 15-time Major champion added that he was trying to rehab and get stronger. Reflecting on his season, he said he wasn't as sharp as he wanted to be and didn’t play as much as he needed to to compete at the Major championships.

"Hopefully next year will be better, I'll be physically stronger and better. I know the procedure helped and hopefully that I can then build upon that," he concluded.

Tiger Woods was last seen competing at The Open Championship in July, where he missed the cut.