Tiger Woods

This anecdote from the book The Big Miss makes me root for him even more. And is indicative that this marriage was doomed -- too different of core values.

Haney, who quit teaching Woods in May 2010, had an up-close look at the changing relationship between Woods and now-ex-wife Elin Nordegren.

"Tiger really liked her competitive streak [while they were dating] and seemed to enjoy treating her like one of the guys, needling her and even telling raunchy jokes around here, which Elin didn't seem to mind," Haney writes. "But as life became more complicated, I thought Elin changed. By the time she and Tiger married, she remained friendly but had become more guarded, even in her own home. She and Tiger developed a calm, almost cool relationship in front of other people, and conversations with them tended to be awkward and strained. I never saw them argue, but they weren't openly affectionate either."

Haney points in particular to the 2005 Buick Invitational, the first event Woods won with Haney as his coach. At the time, Nordegren was a nanny for fellow Tour golfer Jesper Parnevik, and she wanted to celebrate Woods' victory the way Parnevik would: with a major party. Woods would have none of it: "E, that's not what we do," he said, according to Haney. "I'm not Jesper. We're supposed to win."

Haney writes that Nordegren's smile grew smaller that day and many thereafter, and "in the future Elin would keep her emotions under wraps whenever Tiger won."