Tiger did nothing wrong.
Following the round, Garcia questioned Woods' actions.
"I wouldn't say that he didn't see that I was ready, but you do have a feel when the other guy is going to hit and right as I was in the top of the backswing, I think he must have pulled (a club) and obviously everybody started screaming," Garcia told NBC. "So that didn't help very much." Woods said Garcia didn't have all the facts.
"The marshals, they told me he already hit, so I pulled a club and was getting ready to play my shot," Woods said.
Two days later, however, Sports Illustrated reported that the chief marshal for the hole, John North, stood over Woods' ball in the trees as the gallery scurried into position and was 5 feet from Woods when he played his shot.
"Nothing was said to us and we certainly said nothing to him," North told SI. "I was disappointed to hear him make those remarks. We're there to help the players and enhance the experience of the fans. He was saying what was good for him. It lacked character."
The report by SI led many to think Woods was lying about the incident.
Two other marshals, however, are disputing the account in SI and told Gary Smits of the Florida Times-Union that Woods did communicate with marshals and was just guilty of getting the sequence of events mixed up. According to the report on Wednesday, Brian Nedrich and Lance Paczkowski were within 10 to 12 yards of Woods. Both said claims that there wasn't communication between Woods and marshals are wrong.
"It is not true and definitely unfair to Tiger," Nedrich, who was a marshal at the second hole, told the Times-Union. "That's because I was the one Tiger heard say that Sergio had hit."
But that was after Woods had pulled the club and the crowd had stirred. Nedrich said he could barely see Garcia but got a glimpse of him swinging and saw the ball in the air. Paczkowski, his view of Garcia blocked by bushes, tried to quiet the crowd when Woods pulled his club and said "the other player (Garcia) hasn't hit yet." That's when Nedrich yelled back to Paczkowski that Garcia had hit. Woods even tried to quiet the crowd when he realized Garcia was hitting, pointing Garcia's way.
In a phone interview with USA TODAY Sports, Nedrich said his initial reaction to the report in SI "was that it was pretty far from the truth."
"I didn't think at the time of the incident it would blow up into the fiasco it is today," said Nedrich, who was a player escort for Garcia the final day. "Tiger couldn't see what was going on and he was focusing on his shot. He was doing his normal stuff. When I saw Sergio hit and turned to Lance and said, loud enough for Tiger to hear, that it was Tiger's turn to hit.
" … I've read some blogs, some stories saying that I'm a Tiger lover. I have no agenda here, and I'm telling the truth. I like both of the guys. It was an unfortunate incident."
Paczkowski, who walked every hole with Woods that day with a team of escorts, told USA TODAY Sports he was "shocked" by the report in SI.
"I was mad," Paczkowski said of the SI report. "I couldn't believe they were saying that. Making it sound like Tiger lied? I looked at (the report) and wondered if this came out of the Sergio camp because something just wasn't right. All I can say is they must not have been close enough to hear or see what was going on."
Paczkowski said he was within 2 to 10 feet from Woods during the entire incident, close enough, he said, "that I didn't have to raise my voice."
"As a player escort, we are always near the player," Paczkowski said. "We asked (Woods) if the crowd was OK, and he said yes. I didn't have a clear view of Sergio, but I was close to Tiger and he was talking to his caddie. The crowd was making noise and marshals told them to be quiet because the other player hadn't hit yet. Tiger pulled his club and the marshal yelled that Sergio hit, so I know the marshal did say Sergio hit his ball and Tiger heard him.
" … I believe in the integrity and the honor of the game, and whether you're a Tiger Woods fan or not, (the SI report) just isn't true. He doesn't need to go through this. This is ridiculous."
Woods was unavailable for comment. Garcia could not be reached for comment; he is in Spain before playing in next week's BMW PGA Championship in England.
Mark Steinberg, Woods' agent, did comment in an e-mail to USA TODAY Sports: "The comments from the marshals in today's story (in the Times-Union) definitively show that Tiger was telling the truth about being told Sergio had hit. I hope this demonstrates to some reporters the importance of accuracy and not jumping to misplaced conclusions."
North, who did not return phone calls from USA TODAY Sports, clarified his remarks in a follow-up interview Wednesday with SI. He said it was possible that other officials had an exchange with Woods, seeing as he had an earpiece in one ear. North told SI has was beside Woods' ball as he prepared to hit his shot but was about 20 feet from the ball when Woods swung. North said his statement about Woods' "character" stemmed from his belief that no marshals talked with Woods.
