Goydos on Tiger: Public opinion matters most

• By Ryan Ballengee
• May 2, 2012 10:04 AM ET

Tiger Woods opted out of a pre-tournament news conference this week at the Wells Fargo Championship in lieu of answering hand-picked fan questions in a video posted on his website. Woods has been criticized by some media members for the move. PGA Tour player Paul Goydos feels, however, they are not the arbiters of the experiment.

"At the end of the day, I think what's going to matter is what the public thinks," Goydos said Wednesday on "Morning Drive." 

"If the public is happy with what Tiger's giving them, then the media is going to have a tough time getting around that. Whether that'll happen for months if nothing but fluff is coming out is totally another issue." 

Woods answered 20 questions from fans in a 14-minute video, none questioning Woods' behavior at the Masters or asking about former coach Hank Haney's memoir, "The Big Miss." Agent Mark Steinberg said the decision to forgo a news conference this week was not motivated by a desire to avoid any subject matter with the media.

With the media feeling jilted by the decision, Goydos reiterated his belief in the symbiotic press-player relationship.

"The media is there to help, not to hurt you," he said. "It's a relationship. If you treat them poorly, they'll treat you poorly. If you treat them well, they'll treat you well."