Haney announces he is resigning as Tiger's coach

text size

Halleran/Getty Images

Hank Haney had worked as Tiger Woods' swing coach since 2004. Monday, he resigned.

Hank Haney announced Monday night on his website that he is resigning as Tiger Woods' coach, just hours after Woods said he and Haney were still working on the swing that has been ineffective in Tiger's three PGA TOUR starts this season.

In a short statement released Tuesday, Woods confirmed the split and thanked Haney.

"Hank Haney and I have agreed that he will no longer be my coach," Woods said on his website. "Hank is an outstanding teacher and has been a great help to me, but equally importantly he is a friend. That will not change. I would like to thank him for all he has done for me the past six years."

In Haney's statement, he expressed appreciation and gratitude for the time the two had spent working together.

"I have informed Tiger Woods this evening that I will no longer be his coach," Haney said in his statement on hankhaney.com. "I would like to thank Tiger for the opportunity that I have had to work with him over the past 6-plus years. Tiger Woods has done the work to achieve a level of greatness that I believe the game of golf has never seen before and I will always appreciate the opportunity that I have had to contribute to his successes."

"I have also enjoyed the association that I have had with Tiger both on and off the golf course as I have had some incredible experiences. In coaching and teaching Tiger I have also learned a lot, not only about golf, but about people and life in general. It has been a great learning experience and along the way Tiger has elevated me in my own profession to a level that I never thought I would achieve before I had the opportunity to work with him.

"In many ways because of all of the time that I have spent with Tiger, I may have learned more from him than he has ever learned from me. So I believe at this time that it is in both of our best interests for me to step aside as Tiger's coach."

Since returning to golf last month at the Masters, Woods had denied rumors of a possible split with Haney, who he worked with since 2004 and won six majors with as his coach. Woods said on multiple occasions that he and Haney "continue to work together" and that they "talk every day."

At THE PLAYERS Championship, Woods talked about his return to golf being a process.

"You don't turn this thing around overnight and then just go out there and play great golf," Woods said. "It takes time to get into the rhythm of competing and it takes tournaments. And I haven't had a lot of tournaments under my belt."

When asked about rumors of a possible split with Haney, Woods said at the time, "Hank and I talk every day, so nothing's changed. According to the press, I've fired him five times by now."

In fact, Tiger mentioned working with Haney even as late as Monday afternoon at his news conference to support the AT&T Classic.

"I talked to Hank about some of the stuff. We're still working on it," Woods said one day after withdrawing while playing the seventh hole in the final round of THE PLAYERS Championship because of a neck injury. "We have a lot of work to do. I can't make the movements that I made before because of the neck. I need to get healthy to play the proper way."

Prior to 2004, Woods was under the guidance of Butch Harmon, who he won eight major championships with as his coach. However, Harmon said last week in a radio interview with the PGA TOUR Network that Woods' game is "in disarray."

"Anybody that plays golf can look out there and see that he's not Tiger Woods, but until he gets his head on straight, and he gets things in his mind settled, with some professional help I would add, I think it's going to be a while before we see the old Tiger Woods," Harmon said. "He will figure out the mechanical part of it, the physical part of it. It's the mental part of it. I think that's hurting him.

"I think if I was still on [Woods'] team, I would advise him really not to play much this year, maybe just play in the majors. Get some professional help, try and get your head back on straight, try to get some semblance of a normal life. That's going to be hard for him to get, for everything that's happened."

NBC's Johnny Miller was even more critical, saying that Woods should think about returning to his old coach.

"This might be a little harsh, but I really believe [Woods] needs to, every night, watch the U.S. Open in the year 2000 in Pebble and just copy that swing and forget the [Hank] Haney stuff," Miller said during NBC's broadcast of THE PLAYERS Championship. "That was the best golf anybody has every played in history."

Woods won the U.S. Open that year by a record 15 strokes.

Haney took exception to the statement by Miller, saying that in the last 2½ years, Woods won 44 percent of his tournaments and finished in the top three 61 percent of the time and that in the 2½ years before he started working with Woods, he won 24 percent of the time and finished in the top three 43 percent of the time.

In his statement Monday night, Haney made a point of saying that it was his choice to leave Woods' team.

"Just so there is no confusion, I would like to make it clear that this is my decision," he noted in his statement. "Tiger and I will always be friends but I believe there is a time and place for everything and I feel at this time and at this place in my life I want to move forward in other areas."

Haney said he will leave Tiger with only the fondest memories.

"I will always look back upon our past half dozen years together as my best days in professional golf," he said in his statement. "It would be a dream of any coach to have a student like Tiger Woods and for me it was a dream come true. ...

"Tiger has been just an incredible performer in golf and he has achieved great success throughout his career. First with his father Earl, and then with Butch Harmon as his coach, followed by me, I know Tiger Woods will be successful in the future no matter who helps him. He is an incredible athlete with an incredible work ethic. As we all know, Tiger has been through a lot in the last six months, and I really believe that given the chance, mind free and injury free, we will all see Tiger Woods play once again like we all know he can.

"I wish Tiger well, not only with his golf, but in finding peace and happiness in all aspects of his life. Tiger knows that if he ever needs me in anyway, whether it be with his golf or just as a friend he can always call. I will always, as I have been in the past, be there for him. From a personal standpoint, I look forward to being able to make many more contributions to the great game of golf in the days and years ahead."

PGATOUR.COM's Brian Wacker contributed to this report.