Despite some criticism, Haney wishes Tiger well

Even though Hank Haney knows that he and his book are two of Tiger Woods' least favorite subjects right now, Haney has not changed his opinion of his former student.

"I still believe in my mind," he said Thursday, "that Tiger is the best player."

What's more, despite having resigned as Woods' swing coach in 2010 and having written some blunt thoughts in "The Big Miss: My Years Coaching Tiger Woods," Haney will be closely watching Woods on TV at the Masters next week.

"I hope Tiger wins. I hope he does well. I hope he wins his majors. If he breaks [Jack] Nicklaus' record, I will have been a part -- at least a little part -- of that because he won six majors while I was helping him," Haney said.

The swing coach was in Manhattan Thursday for a breakfast conducted by Golf Digest to mark the publication of a book about which Woods refuses to comment. The golfer prizes his privacy and apparently is not happy that Haney wrote about details of his life outside the ropes -- including the former coach's assertion that Woods suffered a knee injury in heavy training with Navy SEALs and not by simply running, as Woods had said.

Haney defended his right to write, saying that other successful coaches and managers -- Phil Jackson, Joe Torre, John Wooden -- have written about their experiences. With regard to the reminiscences about Woods, Haney said, "Those are my memories, too. He doesn't have a patent on them." Besides, he said, most of the book's content is very favorable to Woods, whom he considers the greatest golfer ever.

The former coach noted that Woods, coming off a win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational last Sunday, is working hard under new coach Sean Foley and is hitting the ball well. But he added that at Augusta National, it is not just about hitting the ball.

"He would have had seven green jackets in a row if he would have gone around Augusta National in one three-putt or less. It gets down to three-putting," Haney said. He pointed out that former caddie Steve Williams' intricate statistics showed that when Woods went through a week without a three-putt green, he won 85 percent of the time.

"Tiger is 130th in three-putt avoidance right now. He needs to sharpen that up. If he sharpens that up, the way he's hitting the ball, he's going to win a lot of golf tournaments," Haney said. "I wouldn't bet against him, by any means."