December 13, 2007–The World's number one golfer was in Las Vegas over the weekend, taking in the mega-fight between Las Vegas resident Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and British fighter Ricky Hatton. "I (also) went to Mayweather/De la Hoya, and this one here was absolutely incredible," Woods said in a press conference before his Target World Challenge event. Also, ESPN.com reported that Woods spent some time with his golf instructor, Hank Haney, while here. Tiger has many ties to Las Vegas golf courses.
Those bonds to Las Vegas golf courses run deep, from hosting his annual Tiger Jam event in Las Vegas–Las Vegas golf courses Rio Secco Golf Club and Cascata have hosted it–to his many years spent with coach Butch Harmon at the Harmon School of Golf, also located at Rio Secco Golf Club. Woods also continues to utilize the services of local physical therapist guru Keith Kleven. And Tiger came very close to attending UNLV and playing golf for head coach Dwaine Knight. The Tiger Jam annually plays host to a concert at the Mandalay Bay in addition to a private VIP dinner and auction. The event benefits the Tiger Woods foundation. Celebrities who have attended and/or appeared include Kevin James, Charles Barkley, Christina Aguilera, Pamela Anderson, Kid Rock, Michael Jordan, Seal and many more. In 2007, Bon Jovi headlined the concert and American Idol superstar Daughtry was the opening act.
Woods, who has been to several fights and other big events, was awed by the atmosphere at Mayweather/Hatton. Especially the singing by the mostly British crowd.
"The atmosphere, I've never seen anything like it, all the singing," said Woods. "We went to one of the other cards right before that, right before the main event, and everyone was still singing. And when what's obviously happening in the ring, it was over. They were all into it, and just the people who were there to watch from a celebrity standpoint are famous athletes. It was pretty amazing to see that this many people came out to watch this fight. Some are pretty big fight fans. I know that Denzel (Washington) and Bruce Willis are huge fight fans, obviously (Charles) Barkley behind me … he goes to every fight."
PHOTO: TigerJam.com