By: S Murali, News Editor
First published: 22 June 04, TODAY

My uncle has always been a faithful Tiger Woods fan. His mantra used to be: "I hope he wins it all", as he never got bored of seeing the American finish on top, one tournament after another.

But he has changed his mind. Before Sunday's final round of the US Open golf tournament, he told me that he wanted either American Phil Mickelson or Japan's Shigeki Maruyama to win.

"There's something wrong with Tiger," said my uncle. And he was not just referring to the golfer's swing.

To put it simply: Tiger - arguably the world's most popular sportsman - is, well, not so popular any more.

The favourite was clearly "lefty" Mickelson, with even unfashionable Fred Funk drawing larger roars than old Tiger.

Sure, things could have been different had Tiger gone on a run.

But that's just the point, isn't it? Those magical runs are fast becoming a fading memory.

And this week's US Open did little to raise Tiger's image in the popularity polls.

First, he started the week by attacking the media for talking about his swing.

"The guys on tour and I have a laugh about it," said Tiger, suggesting that the pundits - who include former Major winners Johnny Miller and Andy North - did not know what they were talking about when they criticised his swing.

Stung into action, the media got its revenge by putting Tiger's ex-coach Butch Harmon on the stand.

Incidentally, Tiger has not won a Major since getting rid of Harmon two years ago.

Harmon, though extremely diplomatic throughout his interview, did say that Tiger had problems with his swing but that he was probably in denial.

And that brought out the claws once again. Responded Tiger on Saturday: "I don't know why he (Harmon) would say anything like that. Obviously, he doesn't really know what I'm working on.

"If you go say something like that, you go right up to my face and say it."

But veteran golfers Nick Price of Zimbabwe and Irishman Padraig Harrington backed Harmon's words, with Harrington going so far as to say that some players' attitude towards Tiger had changed.

"Before, there was an attitude that you had to play really well to beat Tiger. But now players are taking the attitude, 'I'll just play my own game and let him play well if he wants to beat me'."

But Tiger's problems don't stop with questions of his ability. There is a growing disenchantment with his somewhat abrasive personality.

This week, apart from the problematic media and talkative ex-coaches, the world No 1 blamed his erratic game on the weather, the course, the greens, the US Golf Association, the fans and even modern photography.

Then, there is his unspoken tolerance of his caddie Steve Williams' loutish behaviour.

At the second hole on Sunday, Williams snatched away a camera from an unsuspecting off-duty policeman in the crowd.

This came just two days after he had kicked another photographer's camera, presumably for taking pictures of his boss at the wrong time.

Apart from angering organisers, who don't want vigilante caddies doing security work, many find Tiger's lack of control (or is it subtle approval?) over Williams' methods unacceptable.

Sun Herald columnist Sally Jenkins said it was a direct reflection of Tiger's attitude toward the public.

She went on to suggest that at 28, the man Tiger was growing into might not be all that palatable to the public.

"What if the former Wonder Boy is just a sour complainer named Eldrick whose manners are as lousy as his play is disappointing?" she asked, pointedly.

Fair enough. But would a storming eight-stroke victory at the British
Open next month make everybody forget this whole debate? Probably.

If he wins, the hypocrites in us would probably mark down those same excesses as the sort of arrogance that every great champion needs if he is to move around in those rarefied circles.

Problem is, right now, he isn't winning. And it's starting to smell.