So it’s come to pass that once again Tiger Woods has won a tournament, and once again, he is being criticized for his on-the-course antics.

Over the weekend, Woods won on the other side of the globe. He fired a final-round 68 en route to a two-shot victory at the Australian Masters at Kingston Heath Golf Club near Melbourne. Ho-Hum, it’s Tiger’s seventh win of the year. So what else is new? We’re pretty used to that part.

And, by the the way, anybody who says Woods isn’t the greatest player of all-time also believes we faked the moon landings (yeah, I know he still trails Jack Nicklaus in majors, but his career is far from over). Still, it’s a shame that Tiger’s wins ? or Tiger’s play ? seem to come with so much controversy.

Once again, Woods has been criticized for an outburst. This time, during the third round, after a tee shot on the 13th hole he banged his driver so hard against the turf that it bounced up into the crowd. A fan caught it and returned it to him. And then there’s that cursing thing he does, which most of us have been guilty of from time to time on the course. We are, however, not paid a $2 million appearance fee (which also generated controversy among Australian taxpayers) or followed around with cameras.

These actions have been incredibly divisive among golf fans, as evidenced by readers’ comments on various Web sites. Tiger haters look at this as just another example of his boorish behavior, how he doesn’t exemplify a gentleman’s game and how he’s destroying that tradition.

Many Tiger supporters say lots of players do exactly what Tiger does but that they aren’t called on the carpet for it because they aren’t in the spotlight. Or, and here’s the charge I love, Tiger is being singled out by critics who are simply racist. Those same people who make the racist charge, by the way, usually say athletes aren’t and should not be role models.

Let’s take that last point first. Parents should be role models, but most of the time, they are not. That’s just the way it is. Athletes, entertainers, politicians ? anybody in the spotlight ? have a great opportunity. They are in position to influence the greatest number of youth, so ideally, they should use that power for good, not bad. So Tiger should make an effort. He doesn’t have to be perfect, but he could be better.

Secondly, yes, there are those who base their criticism on Tiger’s mixed racial makeup. Yes, the world is full of bigots and no matter what Tiger does, it isn’t enough or proper in many people’s minds. That’s just the way it is unfortunately. All you have to do is read their comments online. They don’t even try to hide it.

Unfortunately, there is no one solution for this, but if Tiger tried to control himself a little better, he wouldn’t give his “haters” so much ammunition.

And yes, he can control it. How do I know this? I’ve played with a minister on a couple of occasions and both times, I was able to get through 18 holes and several bad shots and bad breaks without as much as a “darn it.” And if I can do it, anyone can. I wouldn’t utter an obscenity if there were a young child in my group either.

So Tiger, just imagine that there are minsters and children in the gallery. Because there are.