Hank Haney takes a swing at PGA Tour after fallout

Tiger Woods’ former coach alleges in a lawsuit that the Tour pressured SiriusXM to fire him from his radio show in a bid to ‘settle an old score’

Filed: By former instructor Hank Haney, a lawsuit against the PGA Tour, alleging that the Tour pressured SiriusXM Radio to fire Haney from his radio show, GolfDigest.com reported. In the civil action taken in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Haney claims that the PGA Tour “improperly intimidated, enticed and threatened” the satellite-radio network to get rid of the famed instructor. Haney alleges that the Tour sought to “settle an old score” regarding his fallout as the former swing coach for Tiger Woods. Haney, 64, was suspended by SiriusXM Radio earlier this year after he made remarks that were deemed racist and sexist about the LPGA. Asked by co-host Steve Johnson about who would win the U.S. Women’s Open, Haney derisively predicted “a Korean” before adding that he knew so little about the women’s tour but that the winner likely would be named “Lee” (“If Haney feels remorse, next step is key,” Sept. 17). Haney quickly apologized; Korean Jeongeun Lee6 eventually won the tournament. Haney alleges that the PGA Tour’s influence in getting him fired from the show cost him “millions of dollars over the life of the agreement” with SiriusXM Radio. Haney coached Woods from 2004 to 2010 and authored “The Big Miss,” a 2012 tell-all regarding his time with Woods.