Out of bounds on trail of the Tiger

SPORTS ILLUSTRATED senior golf writer John Garrity told the conference yesterday that “access has disappeared” when it comes to top golfers on the US PGA.

In an address entitled “Chasing Tiger and golf’s tour millionaires”, Garrity told the audience of the restrictions when it comes to interviewing Tiger Woods: “No one-on-ones, no phone interviews, no home visits, no hotel visits, no interviews at practice.” Garrity compared the present situation with the US Open in 1960, when Arnold Palmer, seven shots off the lead, had a hamburger between rounds in the locker-room with two reporters, Dan Jenkins and Bob Drumm: it’s generally accepted that Jenkins and Drumm helped goad Palmer into his famous rally to win the tournament.

This lack of access has led to a writing phenomenon Garrity described as “write-around”, a form of writing in which the absence of first-hand quotations and access is camouflaged. It’s characterised by a lack of first-hand scenes, or by “scenes of stunning triviality,” said Garrity. Other traits include an over-reliance on third-party quotations - an example being another golfer saying of Woods that “Tiger has really raised the bar this year.”