Interview with Tiger Woods left CBS reporter “unable to sleep” and with legs “shaking uncontrollably”
CBS sports reporter Amanda Balionis said interviewing Tiger Woods would have physically affected her before and during the interview.
When asked which interview with Woods made her most nervous, the 39-year-old reporter told Links Magazine that she lost sleep before the interview, adding that her legs were constantly shaking throughout the interview. “I really appreciated the camera angle being at waist height, because I was so nervous my legs were shaking. “I’ve been pretty sleep deprived leading up to this interview,” Balionis said.
Tiger Woods of the United States before the 152nd British Open Championship at Royal Troon, Troon, Scotland, July 15, 2024. (Kevin K. Cox/Getty Images)
Balionis’ first interview with Woods came just after she began working for PGATour.com as an on-air host in 2011. This was only his second interview with the site. She joined CBS in 2017. In 2011, Woods was 35 and in the midst of a comeback after a two-year hiatus from golf. Woods had taken a voluntary hiatus from professional golf from December 2009 to early April 2010 to resolve marital issues with his then-wife, Elin. Woods admitted to several marital infidelities, and the couple eventually divorced.
His performance that year was poor, and he suffered a foot injury at the Masters. By November 2011, he had dropped to 58th in the world rankings.
But he had his good moments too. That year he won the Chevron World Challenge by one stroke, his first victory in two years, and won the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne, beating Aaron Baddeley 4-3 to clinch the final point in a 19-15 victory for the U.S. team in Australia.
American Tiger Woods lifts the trophy after defeating Rocco Mediate in the final of the 108th U.S. Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego, June 16, 2008. (Robin Beck/AFP via Getty Images)
Woods himself has been struggling with sleep deprivation lately. In the week after the July 13 assassination attempt on Donald Trump, Woods told BBC Sport that the news was making him feel sick and was causing him to lose sleep. “It was a long night because of the assassination attempt. That’s all I was watching the whole way through,” Woods said of his visit to Royal Troon Golf Club in Scotland for the British Open Championship. “I didn’t sleep a thing on the plane, then I went to the golf course.”
Woods has won 15 Grand Slam tournaments, including three at the British Open, the last of which was in 2006. But his recent performances over the past two years have raised concerns about his future in the sport.
This year will be the first time since 2019 that Woods will play in all four majors. He set a Masters record at Augusta National with 24 consecutive appearances, but withdrew from the PGA Championship and the U.S. Opening over the weekend.
Jackson Thompson is a sports columnist for Fox News Digital. He used to work for ESPN and Business Insider. Jackson examined the finals of the Super Bowl and the NBA, interviewing Ushin Bolt, Rob Glonkovsky, Jerry Rice, Troy Eikman, Mike Trout, David Ortis, and Roger Clemens.
