Tom Watson has sounded off on the Tiger Woods situation with some advice on changes Tiger needs to make.

What makes Watson qualified to spout off? Well, for the younger crowd,  this elder statesman of the game (he's 60) was one of the leading players in the world, topping the PGA Tour money list five times, was ranked #1 from 1978 to 1982, and won eight major championships, some at the expense of Jack Nicklaus. He has also had five wins on the Champions Tour.

Watson believes that Tiger does not have the same kind of respect for the game that is evident in many of today's players and certainly the previous generations of top competitive golfers. While he is obvious one of the game's greatest technical players, his obvious use of profanity on the course and club throwing antics have always prevented him from achieving the same high status as Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Sam Snead, Gary Player, Byron Nelson and Tom Watson himself. Perhaps his successes have accounted for an arrogance that comes through in his attitude and body language. Watson says Tiger should show the public some humility when he comes back to play. He expressed that it would be good for Tiger to be interviewed where he could admit that he has messed up and will try to change.

On a personal note, my father was not particularly interested in athletics, and he never played golf. He was a depression kid that grew up hard, and when I started playing golf I could tell he didn't approve of either the time or money spent on it, though he never said anything.  But he would watch golf on TV sometimes, especially in the era when Nicklaus and Watson dominated. He watched much more recently, too, but he never liked Tiger because of the profanity he used. He wouldn't root against Tiger, but he wouldn't root for him, either. My dad believed that Tiger was not setting a proper example for kids with his outbursts. My dad passed way in 2006; I don't think Tiger's scandal would have surprised him. Saddened him, yes.