Tiger Woods used to be a truly graceful loser. This is one of the things he's never received nearly enough credit for - his classy sportsmanship. In the rare occasions when he did come up short in a big tournament, he'd always heap praise on the other players, never stoop to lame excuses.

Some people are too preoccupied with the colorful expletives he'd drop in frustration (at himself) to recognize this. But it was true.

Apparently, the emphasis is on WAS though.

For the good loser Tiger was nowhere to be found after he threw away a great chance to force the tepid, tentative Trevor Immelman into real pressure situations. Instead after posting that weak final round 72 - the same score his playing partner Stewie Cink put up - Tiger turned into Rory Sabbatini.

Woods actually blamed the media for that Grand Slam talk he eagerly fueled at every opportunity.

"I learned my lesson there with the press," Woods said in his press conference afterwards according to the Associated Press.

Pathetic, simply pathetic. And so beneath what Tiger Woods has always been about.

First, he screamed bloody neck rearrangement at the photographers at Doral when the perfect season that he also openly talked about and pumped up went poof. Now, his inability to do anything on Masters Sunday is chalked up as a press problem.

What's happened to Tiger Woods? We need golf's first-class champion back.

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