On one hand, one has to appreciate Tiger Woods’ candor in discussing why he’s spending this week in the Middle East and not at his personal playground otherwise known as Torrey Pines. His timing, though, is jarringly peculiar.

It was less than a week ago that Woods, dissing Hank Haney’s upcoming book, told ESPN.com his former swing coach was making an obvious cash grab.

Then he jumped on a plane, flew halfway around the globe - and acknowledged that money played a role in the journey.

"I’d have to say yes, it certainly does," Woods told reporters at the Abu Dhabi Championship. "That’s one of the reasons why a lot of the guys who play in Europe - they do play in Europe, and they do get paid."

Translation: Appearance fees. Show-up money.

The actual sum being paid to Woods is a state secret, though reports from Abu Dhabi indicated numbers from $1.7 million to $2.7 million were being tossed around the practice range. The upper figure, by the way, would match the actual tournament purse.

Last year’s Australian Open commanded a $2 million fee, which became public record because half of it was picked up by the state government.

Hmmm, makes you wonder what the "99 percent" crowd would have to say about that. Is there an Occupy branch in Melbourne?

Consider, too, that we’re discussing the wealthiest athlete in history. Even in a down year, Woods still managed to finish atop the Forbes list of most well-compensated sportsmen.

Appearance fees are prohibited on the PGA Tour. All player compensation goes into the purse, which bottoms out at $3 million for an event played opposite majors or World Golf Championships stops. This week’s Farmers Insurance Open prize fund is $6 million.

"We certainly play for more money than any other tour in the world," Woods acknowledged.

A player has to earn his keep, though. When Woods tied for 44th at Torrey Pines last year, the payout was $18,096.

It was a profound clunker for Woods at Torrey Pines, where he’d never before finished out of the top 10 since turning pro. Each of his previous five visits to the San Diego suburbs were victories, including the epic 2008 U.S. Open playoff.

Now, it’s off the travelogue.

"Torrey has been a golf course I’ve enjoyed playing since junior golf," Woods said. "Unfortunately just scheduling-wise, it just didn’t work out. HSBC (Abu Dhabi’s sponsor) has been a huge supporter of the foundation."

Don’t overlook that last sentence. Woods this year has swapped out two events from his old routine – Abu Dhabi replaces Dubai overseas, and the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am subs for Torrey Pines.

AT&T, you’ll recall, is Pebble Beach’s sponsor - and another key underwriter of the Tiger Woods Foundation.

All of which is perfectly fair and reasonable on its own. Reason falls flat, though, when Woods wants to take Haney to task for peeling back the curtain on their six-year working relationship.

"I think people understand that this book is about money," the golfer said last week.