Sports couple Tiger Woods and Lindsey Vonn fired back at Dan Jenkins for writing a "fake" interview with the golf superstar in the December issue of Golf Digest.
Jenkins, who previously tried to interview Woods but was denied numerous times, wrote a series of fake questions and answers about the former World No. 1 such as why he is not firing agent Mark Steinberg and rumors about Woods being a bad tipper.
Reacting to Jenkins' fake story, Woods said that he is used to being scrutinized by the media, but he reiterated that the "concocted" articles was below the belt and is not a "good-natured satire."
"Whether it's misreported information or opinions I think are way off base, I let plenty of things slide," Woods said in a letter posted on The Players' Tribune. "But this time I can't do that. The sheer nastiness of this attack, the photos and how it put false words in my mouth just had to be confronted."
Woods, whose career has been slowed down by injuries and off-course troubles over the past several years, also took a swipe at Golf Digest for publishing the article and for "hiring actors" to pose like Woods in photos.
"I guess Golf Digest's editors believe this is a good way to sell more magazines," Woods said. "I'll bet their readers don't think so. Funny they didn't think this poorly of me when I worked with the magazine. I have to say I was surprised when I saw this piece came from Jenkins, who is one of the most distinguished golf writers out there."
Vonn expressed support to Woods, saying that she is glad her boyfriend took a stand against the "ridiculous" article.
"I completely agree with him. I agree with his statement and I'm glad that he did it," Vonn told USA Today, referring to Woods' statement against Jenkins and Golf Digest. "That's not journalism. It was like a fabricated interview, like what (Jenkins) thinks Tiger would say. But it went way too far, and it wasn't very clear that it was a joke."
Woods also added that they demanded an explanation from Golf Digest for the "pretty cheap shot," but the magazine's editor expressed support to Jenkins, saying that they saw nothing wrong with the made-up interview.
