Rookie not impressed by Woods' Torrey effort

Tiger Woods' 2011 PGA Tour debut at the Farmers Insurance didn't go as well as he had hoped. To make matters worse, the bad shots kept coming after he signed his final card on Sunday in the form of criticism -- from a rookie of all people.

Brendan Steele, who along with Greg Chalmers was paired with Woods in the final round, apparently wasn't impressed by the former No. 1 player's effort.

"I don't think he gave it everything today," Steele told Sports Illustrated. "Once it started going in the wrong direction, I don't think it had his full attention."

Woods shot 75 to finished tied for 44th. It's the first time he's ever finished out of the top 10 at Torrey Pines, a place where he's won seven times, including the 2008 U.S. Open. That event above any in his career displayed Woods' intense will to play well, no matter what the circumstances.

Steele's final-round 70 moved him up to T-17 and marked the fourth straight day that Tiger had been outplayed by someone in his group. Lost in the commotion over his quote regarding Woods' play was the fact that the rookie seemed to enjoy playing with the 14-time major champion. Steele had this to say on Twitter following the round:

"Fun day at Torrey Pines. Thanks so much to @TigerWoods for being so friendly. Really meant a lot to me."

Something tells us Woods will remember the other comment a little more.

-- Alex Myers

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