Charles Barkley Calls Tiger Woods ‘Not Fun To Be Around’

Anyone who has ever seen a March Madness Capital One commercial or watched even five minutes of Inside the NBA knows that former NBA All-Star Charles Barkley likes to have a good time.

But according to Sir Charles, legendary golfer Tiger Woods does not.

Per the New York Post, in his latest book about Phil Mickelson, Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized!) Biography of Golf’s Most Colorful Superstar, author Arthur Shipnuck quotes Barkley keepin’ it real about Tiger:

“Sure, Tiger is a better golfer [than Mickelson]. You’re just in awe of his talent. But it’s not fun to be around him. Everyone in his world is uptight and sh-t, afraid to say or do the wrong thing.

“Tiger himself has always acted like he’s under siege,” Barkley continues. “Gimme a f–kin’ break — you’re just a golfer, dude. When you’re with Phil, you’re guaranteed to have fun. He makes people feel good. Everyone around him is always smiling. That’s a huge difference, man.”

Now, I’ve never met Tiger Woods, Charles Barkley, Phil Mickelson, or Arthur Shipnuck, but I have read a lot of sports articles here at OutKick, and Barkley’s assessment seems to jive with something John Daly said recently.

Per OutKick’s Sam Amico, at the Target World Challenge fifteen years or so ago, “Daly and a few others were throwing back some Crown Royal when Woods walked nearby. Daly told Woods to join the fun. Woods declined, saying he preferred to hit some balls.”

Then later that same tournament, “Woods suggested to Daly that perhaps it wasn’t such a good idea to be ‘wasted,’ given that Daly’s sponsors were nearby to watch him play,” per Amico.

Daly went on to beat Tiger by six strokes that day, despite a killer hangover that would have threatened the performance of lesser men.

Again, I wasn’t there, so I don’t know. But could genuine fun phenoms Barkley and Daly BOTH be wrong? I doubt it.