Tiger Caught on Golf Course Using Cell Phone

Tiger Woods was on the 10th green, cell phone in hand.

It's not what you think.

Turns out Woods was simply giving an old friend a hand.

"He was helping me with my putting," Mark O'Meara said. "I had a loop in my putting stroke. He wanted to film my putting stroke."

Tiger Woods: Complete Coverage

Being caught on camera, cell phone in hand, by an Associated Press photographer probably wasn't the best thing for Woods, who spent the previous day kicking off a campaign to rehabilitate his image.

Not only did it conjure images of the racy texts he allegedly sent mistresses, it may have violated a club policy at Augusta National banning cell phones on the course.

"We ask players not to use their cell phones," club spokesman Steve Ethun said. "We would make exceptions if players were using any kind of recording device during a practice round."

That's what O'Meara said they were doing.

Woods played a practice round Tuesday with O'Meara, the former Masters champion who befriended him when he first turned pro.

Augusta Provides Calm after Tiger's Storm

Woods was put in the next-to-last group for the opening round - his first meaningful shot since his private life unraveled in sordid tales of infidelity five months ago. His 1:42 p.m. tee time fits perfectly into ESPN's live television coverage.

Joining the world's No. 1 player will be K.J. Choi and Matt Kuchar.

"It's funny, because I sort of had a feeling when I left Dallas that it would be cool if I was paired with Tiger, and it happened," Choi said when he walked off the 18th green Tuesday. "I like playing with big crowds."