Joke May Be on Woods, but He Calls Out GQ for Shots at His Dad

The off-color jokes and comments attributed to Tiger Woods in the current issue of GQ magazine don’t trouble him nearly as much as the “cheap shots” at his father.

Woods issued a statement Saturday from the Bay Hill Invitational about the article, which was based in part on an interview with Woods during a limousine ride after a photo shoot.

Woods is quoted as telling jokes--one about lesbians, others with racial overtures--and using profanity in describing how he felt about giving an hour of his time for the photo shoot.

Woods did not deny making the comments.

“It’s no secret that I’m 21 years old and that I’m naive about the motives of certain ambitious writers,” Woods said in the statement. “The article proves that, and I don’t see any reason for anyone to pay $3 to find that out. It’s easy to laugh it off as juvenile and petty except for the attacks on my father,” he continued. “I don’t understand the cheap shots against him.”

The cover of GQ said, “The Coming of Tiger Woods, Sports’ Next Messiah.” Written by Charles P. Pierce, the story builds its theme around Earl Woods telling Sports Illustrated that “Tiger will do more than any other man in history to change the course of humanity.”

The article later said that Earl Woods “was a month away from bypass surgery, and he was beginning to get cranky about it.”

The story also said Earl Woods left his ex-wife and three other children and “has devoted his life . . . to creating something that may now be moving far out of his control.”