Jesper Parnevik had a few choice words about fellow golfer Tiger Woods in a conversation with The Golf Channel on Wednesday.
Parnevik is the PGA pro who brought Elin Nordegren over from Sweden as a nanny — and who then introduced her to Tiger Woods.
“I would be especially sad about it since I’m kind of — I really feel sorry for Elin — since me and my wife were at fault for hooking her up with him,” Parnevik said. “We probably thought he was a better guy than he is. I would probably need to apologize to her and hope she uses a driver next time instead of the 3-iron.”
“It’s a private thing of course,” he said. “But when you are the guy he is, the world’s best athlete, you should think more before you do stuff… And maybe not just do it, like Nike says.”
That’s putting it direct.
Parnevik and his wife Mia are both plainspoken people with a lot of flair. Here’s Mia, talking to Sports Illustrated for a 2004 profile on Nordegren:
In July 2001 Nordegren settled in at the Parneviks’ 3,000-square-foot guesthouse, which she shared with another nanny… “[The nannies] are not employees, they are part of the family,” says Mia. Of course, Nordegren’s arrival begs the question: Since she is such an attractive young woman… “Did I worry my husband was going to screw the nanny?” Parnevik says. “Is that what you’re asking? Of course not. My marriage has a lot more trust than that.”
Actually, the question was going to be, Since Elin is such an attractive young woman, did you anticipate that she would attract attention from the eligible bachelors on Tour?
“No, because she had no interest in golf or golfers,” says Mia. “She thought they were so silly and was always making fun of them.”