For a man who has made a career serenading fans with the sweet sounds of his saxophone, Kenny G seems like one of the last people you’d expect to drop a hard F-bomb. Even more unlikely would be the famed musician cursing out Tiger Woods—but apparently, that’s what once happened. And, if we’re being honest, Tiger kind of had it coming.
Let’s take a trip down memory lane to the 2001 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and one of the most dramatic, star-studded finishes in celebrity golf history. Davis Love III defeated Vijay Singh by a stroke that year in the PGA Tour portion of the event, but the pro-am was even closer between the teams of Tiger and friend/former Stanford teammate Jerry Chang and Kenny G and Phil Mickelson.
Kenny G opens the 2002 PGA Tour awards ceremony with the tour’s 2001 Player of the Year, Tiger Woods, and Rookie of the Year, Charles Howell III.Chris Condon
It looked like Lefty and the saxophonist would claim the title before they both made a mess of the finishing hole to drop into a tie with Woods and Chang at 34 under. And as Kenny was walking off the 18th green he got a call on his flip phone (Again, it was 2001). When he picked up, he was shocked by who it was.
“Kenny, it’s Tiger,” Kenny G recalled Tuesday on SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Sports Radio with hosts Damon Amendolara and Mike Babchik. “I said, ‘How the f— did you get my number?’ He goes, ‘Hey, man, I’m sitting on my airplane getting ready to take off and wanted to watch the last hole. Man, you really choked coming down, didn’t you?'”
Damn, that’s cold, Tiger.
“That’s Tiger Woods telling me,” Kenny continues. “Like, I’m not his competition. So I go, ‘Hey, Tiger, f— you!’ And then he starts laughing. He goes, ‘Hey, listen, I just want to say congratulations and I’m very proud to share that trophy with you.’ And I said, ‘Hey, Tiger, I really appreciate that.’ So that was cool. That’s Tiger Woods for you. He dishes it out, and he doesn’t mind taking it.”
Amazing stuff. Watch Kenny G tell it himself in this hilarious clip.
So good. And speaking of good, that’s what Kenny was that week. Well, other than that final hole.
“When I was out of a hole, he seemed to make some clutch putts,” Mickelson said after. “He averaged two or three natural birdies per round. He’s fundamentally a very solid player.”
Technically, the “G” stands for Gorelick, but maybe it should stand for GOLF.
