Tiger Woods loved to read stories about his cheating scandal, claims Hank Haney in a tell-all book

Tiger Woods kept a very low profile during the height of his now notorious cheating scandal, but he also kept a very close eye on everything that was being written about his indiscretions in the press, claims his former coach Hank Haney in a tell-all book.

Hank Haney explains how his protégé would furiously trawl the internet to find stories written about his infidelities, and gauge readers’ responses to them.

The professional golfing coach makes the allegations, and many others, in The Big Miss: My Years Coaching Tiger Woods, which was released this week.

Hank Haney wrote: “Rather than trying to ignore what was being written and said about him, Tiger was taking it in.

“While we were in Augusta driving back and forth to the course, Tiger sat in the front passenger seat while I sat in the back, and I could see as he surfed the Web on his phone that he was searching for stories about himself on gossip sites.”

Hank Haney went on to claim that the golfing pro also took the time to read all of the comments left by readers at the bottom of online stories.

He said: “A couple of times he suddenly said, <<Uh oh, here’s another story>>, before immersing himself in it.

“Worse, he was reading the comments from readers, many of them vicious cheap shots. I was thinking there was no way that could be helping his frame of mind.”

The Big Miss also sees Hank Haney describe the sum of Tiger Woods’s qualities, good and bad, which he calls “the package”.

Hank Haney concluded: “Those qualities, foremost among them an extraordinary ability to focus and stay calm under stress, also included selfishness, obsessiveness, stubbornness, coldness, ruthlessness, pettiness and cheapness.”

The serial adulterer’s cheating scandal began when news broke of his mistress Rachel Uchitel in November 2009.

More than 15 other women were then revealed to have had relationships with Tiger Woods while he was married to Elin Nordegren.

As a result, Tiger Woods took a long break from golf before returning with a vengeance that saw him win his first PGA tournament at the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Sunday.