Tiger talks to fans, not media

Tiger Woods will not address the media prior to next week's Wells Fargo Championship, and will instead talk directly to the fans.

Woods' agent Mark Steinberg revealed that instead of participating in the usal pre-tournament media sessions at various events, Woods will post a video on his website that will include him answering questions submitted by fans via his Twitter and Facebook accounts. The first video is expected on Monday.

"Instead of talking to the media, he'll talk directly to his fans," Woods' agent, Mark Steinberg said. "With social media today, it made sense to connect to (fans) so we'll selectively pick some events to do that."

Whether this is truly an initiative meant to embrace social media or whether Woods is merely trying to avoid tough questions about the state of his game isn't exactly clear, although his agent says it has nothing to do with media criticism.

Most recently, Woods was in the firing line after the Masters for a second-round outburst that saw him curse and kick his club away.

"The media will continue to have access to him," Steinberg said. "This isn't anything more than a couple of times a year to interact with the fans. They deserve that.

"This isn't intended to make a statement. This is intended to be more inclusive. This isn't a statement whatsoever. Some in the media might interpret it that way but that's not the intent."

Steinberg added that Woods will still address the media after he plays tournament rounds and will do pre-tournament interviews where he is the defending champion, at major championships and selected events.