Remember the 2013 Players Championship controversy between Sergio Garcia and Tiger Woods. Garcia made a comment, which he thought was a joke, and later apologized, saying it was just a foolish remark. However, Woods said it wasn’t silly but hurtful and inappropriate. It was a clear example that Woods is very serious about everything on the golf course. That’s probably why he refused to let a fun two-word banter from the 2000 Presidents Cup slip away.

Instead, he chose to answer with his game and didn’t speak with Vijay Singh or his caddie, Paul Tesori, for about a month. The story, which has become almost part of golf folklore, might seem familiar to you, but there are layers to it that were never peeled back before. And thanks to Kevin Van Valkenburg and our fellow golf sickos at Fried Egg Golf, the world now has the full story. With receipts.

So why was Tiger angry?

This is the Presidents Cup we are talking about. It was 2000, and Tiger and Vijay were at the peak of their powers. Of course, like every Presidents Cup, the International Team was the underdog. So, to add some energy to the environment, the caddies and staff had made “Tiger Who?” hats for team members. Singh’s caddie, Paul Tesori, took a step further.

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TEE OFF HERE↗

During the Sunday Singles, Woods went head-to-head against Vijay Singh. And Tesori decided to wear that hat for the matchup. Fun, right?

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Absolutely no.

Sharing Tesori’s version of the story as told to him by Michael Collins of the Caddie Network, Valkenburg stated that Woods, who didn’t play well throughout the week, noticed the hat on the fourth hole. Things changed dramatically afterward.

Valkenburg recalls the moment as this: Tesori wore the cap and asked Singh if that was alright. The Fijian, who was never really intimated by anyone, said he didn’t care. Unfortunately, Tiger did.

Now, at this point, let’s take a step back and recall what happened in 2000 before the Presidents Cup. Vijay won the Masters. Tiger ran away with the other three majors. Quite naturally, the Woods vs. Singh rivalry was at its peak.

So when Tiger Woods noticed the writing on Tesori’s hat, he apparently took it personally. Singh, who was 1-up at that point, had a 7-footer for birdie. Woods had an 18-footer for bogey after tasting water.

Vijay offered to let Tiger pick up his ball and hoped to end the hole there and move on. Woods refused, asking Singh to make his putt. Now Vijay’s birdie putt just hung on the lip. In any regular match play, you would ask your opponent to pick it up, right?

Not in this case.

“And Tiger just stares him. Death stare. Refuses to concede the putt. Vijay taps it in, turns back to Paul, and he says, ‘I think he saw your hat and don’t think he likes it.'”

Now, Tesori felt bad and was mortified. He took off the hat. Did Woods forgive him? Well, not immediately.

Tiger Woods to Vijay Singh: “I’m looking you right in the eye”

Woods went on to rattle seven birdies in the next 13 holes. Meanwhile, the Presidents Cup was already done and dusted. The Americans won before Woods and Singh could finish their duel. So Singh went to congratulate Woods, and that’s when he fired back.

“So Vijay goes over to Tiger on the 15th fairway to congratulate him on winning the Presidents Cup, and Tiger says to Tesori, ‘We’re not done. We are playing this out.’ Tiger’s version of this story is even more intense,” Kevin Van Valkenburg said. “Tiger actually talked to reporters about this afterwards.

“And he said what he said to Vijay was, ‘Don’t forget us. Don’t forget me. I’m right here, and I’m looking you right in the eye.’ I didn’t want him [Vijay Singh] to back off. I wanted him to give me everything he had. I wasn’t going to lie down, and he wasn’t going to lie down. I wanted him and I know he wanted me.”

Woods went on to win the duel 2&1 and then, during the media interview, fired his parting shot.

“So Tiger wins 2&1,” Valkenburg continued. “And he’s also asked during this media interview if he said anything to Vijay about the hat, and Tiger says, ‘I didn’t have to. 2&1.’ So Tiger refuses to talk to VJ for like a month at this point, and they keep getting paired together in tournaments going forward.”

So how did things cool off? If they did at all.

Yes, it did cool off. Although Tesori might have been better off if Woods had held on to his grudge.

Woods and Singh got paired together at the World Golf Championship-American Express Championship at Valderrama after a month or so. Now Tesori wanted to make amends, so he walked up to Tiger.

Again, to rely on Valkenburg’s account: “Tesori can’t accept Tiger giving him the cold shoulder. So he goes up to him and says, ‘Hey man, I meant no disrespect. I’m really sorry.’ Tiger says, ‘No problem. It did make me want to kick your a** [at that time]. So no hard feelings.”

Woods accepted his apology, and then the two started joking about it 12 years later.

Tesori was at Webb Simpson’s bag, and these two were paired together. The veteran caddie blurted out while walking down the fairway, “Hey, Tiger Who?” and Woods responded with, “What’s up 2&1?”

So why did I say Tesori would’ve been better off if things were frosty?

Well, Tiger Woods loves this story. And what he loves more is Tesori telling the story in award functions and in gatherings of golf’s who’s who. So, Tesori, who now caddies for Tom Kim (Kim plays for Tiger Woods’s Jupiter Links GC), has to revisit his mortifying tale every time he tells the story.

Valkenburg also said that Tesori, at one point, got both Woods and Vijay Singh to sign that hat. Imagine it going up for auction; the price it might fetch will probably be more than what Tiger earned through his nine wins in 2000.

Nevertheless, the incident showed Tiger Woods’ competitive mindset and how seriously he took even a playful jab. But as things cleared up, it is now a fun memory for him.