Tiger Woods’ agent says legal action a possibility after article hints that Tiger is a cheater

Tiger Woods’ agent, Mark Steinberg, is hinting at possible legal action after a Golf.com analyst questioned Tiger’s ethics on the golf course after a questionable drop at the Masters earlier this year.

During the second round of the 2013 Masters, Tiger faced a shot at Augusta National’s famous 15th hole that looked like for a second it might go in for an eagle. Instead, the shot ended up the story of the year, with Woods ball bouncing off a flagstick and bringing with it a rules situation the likes of which we’ve never seen at a major championship (Sorry Dustin Johnson but your situation at Whistling Straits can’t compare to something involving Tiger Woods).

Woods was assessed a two-shot penalty that day after his round was completed for taking an illegal drop and the golf world turned upside down on the idea that Woods may or may not have tried to gain an advantage during the biggest tournament of the season.

The year ended up a good one for Woods, with the No. 1 player in the world winning five times on tour and collecting the player of the year awards, but that wasn’t what Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee focused on when he graded some of the top players in an article published on Golf.com.

Chamblee’s article paints Woods as a man that bends the rules, giving him a “F” grade for the year because of his situation with the rules of golf.

Here is what Chamblee wrote …

“When I was in the fourth grade, I cheated on a math test and when I got the paper back it had ‘100’ written at the top and just below the grade, was this quote: ‘Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive!’ It was an oft-quoted line from the epic poem ‘Marmion’ by Sir Walter Scott, and my teacher’s message was clear. Written once more beneath that quote was my grade of ‘100,’ but this time with a line drawn through it and beneath that an F. I never did ask my teacher how she knew I cheated and I certainly didn’t protest the grade. I knew I had done the wrong thing and my teacher the right, but I never forgot the way I felt when I read that quote.

“I remember when we only talked about Tiger’s golf. I miss those days. He won five times and contended in majors and won the Vardon Trophy and … how shall we say this … was a little cavalier with the rules.”

Tiger, a man that rarely lets an accusation by a media member prompt him to respond, might be silent on the issue for now, but that isn’t the case with Steinberg.

Steinberg released a statement to Bob Harig over at ESPN.com saying that legal action is “a possibility” after the cheating accusation that Chamblee danced around in his article.

“There’s nothing you can call a golfer worse than a cheater,” Steinberg said. “This is the most deplorable thing I have seen. I’m not one for hyperbole, but this is absolutely disgusting. Calling him a cheater? I’ll be shocked, stunned if something is not done about this. Something has to be done.

“Three are certainly things that just don’t go without response. It’s atrocious. I’m not sure if there isn’t legal action to be taken. I have to give some thought to legal action.”

Steinberg being fired up shouldn’t be that much of a surprise, as being labeled a “cheater” in golf is just about as bad as it gets, especially in the professional ranks.

At the time of the incident it didn’t seem that Tiger was actually trying to gain an advantage (if you remember, he actually commented after that he went a couple of yards back, meaning if he did mean to do it he was giving the world his admission of guilt), but I for one don’t think it was Tiger’s intention to actually cheat the game of golf with his drop back in April.

My point has been simple about Tiger and his season; major or no major the guy played great golf, winning five times and putting himself in position at some major championships even though he wasn’t able to close one out. Woods is a man that has always seemed to pride himself on his actions inside the ropes, and bad drop or no bad drop I didn’t think he deserved to be labeled something this bad just to gain some eyeballs.

“This is, ‘Hey, look at me,’ in its lowest form,” Steinberg said in his statement. “Brandel Chamblee’s comments are shameful, baseless and completely out of line. In his rulings, Tiger voiced his position, accepted his penalty and moved on. There was no intention to deceive anyone. Chamblee’s uninformed and malicious opinions, passed on as facts, and his desperate attempt to garner attention, is deplorable.”

I’m guessing this won’t be the last we hear about this from both Chamblee and the Tiger camp.

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Shane Bacon is the editor of Devil Ball Golf and Busted Racquet on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shanebaconblogs@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter at @ShaneBacon!