After more than four years together, 14-time major champion Tiger Woods parted ways with his swing coach Sean Foley on Monday.
“I’d like to thank Sean for his help as my coach and for his friendship,” Woods said on his website. “Sean is one of the outstanding coaches in golf today, and I know he will continue to be successful with the players working with him.”
Although Woods won eight times on the PGA Tour under Foley’s tutelage, he also endured multiple injuries during his stint with the Canadian swing coach. Woods injured his Achilles, neck, elbow and most recently his back, which forced him to miss the Masters and U.S. Open and most of the 2014 PGA Tour season.
Woods added in his statement that he does not have a swing coach and doesn’t have a timetable for hiring one.
Foley was Woods’ third swing coach and first to not help him win a major title. Foley was also quoted in the statement on Woods’ website saying, “My time spent with Tiger is one of the highlights of my career so far, and I am appreciative of the many experiences we shared together. It was a lifelong ambition of mine to teach the best player of all time in our sport. I am both grateful for the things we had the opportunity to learn from one another, as well as the enduring friendship we have built. I have nothing but respect and admiration for him.”
Rumors swirled Monday afternoon about Woods returning to Butch Harmon, his first coach, but Harmon diminished those rumors when talking to Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard.
“No I would not and he’s not going to call and ask,” Harmon said. “I don’t think he needs a swing coach. If I were advising Tiger I’d tell him, ‘You’re the greatest player that ever lived, just go to the range and hit shots.’”
Woods has failed to win a major in more than six years and is scheduled to return to competitive golf at his own World Challenge event at Isleworth Country Club on Dec. 4-7 in Orlando.