Bouquets and brickbats await Tiger Woods in Augusta

New York, Mar 18 (ANI): The news that professional golfer Tiger Woods will be playing next month in the Masters Tournament has been met with mixed emotions by folks in Augusta, Ga.

With Woods, 34, having made headlines just recently for his sex scandal, some are weary of having him in their town.

"There isn't a respectable parent of a teenage daughter within 10 miles who can feel safe with Tiger Woods coming to town," the New York Daily News quoted Jim Searan, 43, a dad with 12 and 16-year-old daughters, as saying.

"The man is a cheat and a philanderer. If he comes near my kids, I'll show him a new use for those pretty golf clubs," he stated.

But not everyone is worried about Woods playing in Augusta, and some are even eager to welcome him with open arms.

"The only thing I know about Tiger Woods is that I'm going to try to date him," Sydney Balogh, a 27-year-old stylist at a downtown spa, said.

"I may not be blond but after looking at the other women he's been with, I think I stand a good chance," Balogh stated.

At one of the local Hooters restaurants, a comely waitress said Woods is her favourite golfer.

"All the girls are excited for Tiger to come to town. If he happens to fall off the wagon, he knows where to come," she said.

Many other Augustans said Woods already has been punished enough for cheating on his wife with a bevy of babes and should be allowed to move on.

"Leave Tiger alone. People just need to leave the poor guy alone. He didn't murder anyone," Karen Newman, 53, who operates an organic garden, said.

Woods' return to the links on April 8 is expected to be a much-appreciated extra boon to Augusta, as local businesses see a 200 percent jump during Masters week.

"With Tiger making a firm statement, my clients that were on the fence quickly jumped off," Jay Norton, whose company rents local houses to the big shots flocking into town for the tourney, said.

"This is going to be bigger than the Super Bowl.

"Augusta has been experiencing a slow time. There is a hope that Tiger can change all that. Lift us up," he stated.

Steve Fink, who runs AuctionWorld in downtown Augusta, says he's already paying top dollar for anything with Woods' autograph.

"Tiger is Hiroshima hot right now, and the minute he wins this major he is going supernova. The hot women are going to crave him even more, too," Fink added. (ANI)