Haney: Mediate's assertion is 'absurd'

• By Rex Hoggard
• Aug 31, 2011 1:25 PM ET

Hank Haney, Tiger Woods’ former instructor, responded Wednesday to criticism levied by Rocco Mediate that the swing coach contributed greatly to Woods’ declining game.

“Starting with [Hank] Haney until now, it was a complete and absolute destruction,” Mediate said of Woods’ swing, according to Ron Kroichick of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Haney told GolfChannel.com, “Rocco is entitled to his opinion and I respect that. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions but no one is entitled to their own facts.

“Tiger's record while I helped him speaks for itself. The last three years I was with Tiger he won 45 percent of his starts; he finished in the top-10 in 85 percent of his tournaments. In 2009, Tiger won seven times and was in the top 10 in 17 out of 19 tournaments. My last tournament with Tiger was the 2010 Masters, which was his first tournament back after the scandal and he finished fourth which, by the way, is [tied for] his best finish in the last two seasons on Tour. The assertion by Rocco that my teaching somehow contributed to Tiger's decline is frankly absurd and clearly not supported by the facts."

Mediate also took to task Woods’ current swing coach Sean Foley, saying, “Sean knows some stuff, but what's going on with Tiger is not correct.”

Foley was reached by GolfChannel.com, but would not comment on the criticism.