Can Cameras GIve Athletes a Little Privacy, Please?

I can't remember the football game where this occurred - sometime last year - some player injured himself and walked the long walk down the tunnel into the locker room. It was obviously a high-profile player, perhaps even a quarterback. The point is that someone with a camera followed the guy - from the back - all the way down the long hallway to the locker room.

Why? There's a game going on...why are you wasting five minutes filming a guy from the back walking down a tunnel to a locker room?

Today, it was Tiger Woods, at the Farmers Insurance Open in Torrey Pines, California. There was a fog delay, and apparently between the time Tiger had practiced to the time he was able to play, his glutes had "deactivated" and he couldn't reactivate them, and they went up into his lower back. (Whatever the heck that means.)

Anyway, after 11 holes (he'd started on the back nine) Tiger withdrew.

A camera showed him shaking hands with his two other partners that day - Rickie Fowler and Billy Horschel - and then getting on a cart - in the front seat - and being driven away.

A cameraman followed after the cart for five minutes, filming the cart - because we certainly couldn't see Tiger. Why? Why? Did the cameraman hope Tiger would suddenly jump out of the front seat and come running back, ready to golf again?

Then he stood around for a few minutes talking to reporters.

Then he got in his car and waited.

Did the camera cut away and go back to showing us some golf action?

Why no, he didn't. He continued to film the car in which Tiger was sitting, while his caddy put all the gear away. It was like 10 minutes of filming of absolutely nothing to see.

Absolutely ridiculous.

Meanwhile, as I type, Phil Mickelson is about to tee off on the 10th hole of the South Course - having had bogeys on 3, 4 and 6, and birdies on 8 and 9, so he's one over on the day.

Not sure how many more holes he'll be able to play today, because of the fog delay.

And meantime...

Nicholas Thompson playing the North Course is leading at -7 through 15. But Jhonattan Vega, playing the much harder (at least according to the commentators) South Course, is in second at -5.