The No-Tiger Effect: How Woods’ Absence Is Taking the Glow off Golf’s Majors

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: June 10, 2014

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As golf prepares for a second straight major without its biggest name, exactly how much does the sport miss Tiger Woods?

Oh, only about as much as you’d miss your lungs if you woke up without them tomorrow.

That acknowledgement of the obvious tends to infuriate Tiger haters and all those who cling to the mistaken belief that no individual can be bigger than the game.

Face it: Woods has been the game for close to two decades now. And nothing—not scandal, injuries or the failure to win a major since 2008—has been able to knock him off that perch.

That will be evident when the television ratings roll in for this week’s U.S. Open at storied Pinehurst No. 2.

Already this year, the Masters learned that its green jacket and all of the other traditions at Augusta National can’t compensate for a missing Tiger. Final-round ratings on CBS plunged 24 percent from 2013 and were the lowest since 2004, according to Golf.com.

To be fair, Phil Mickelson missed the cut at the Masters this year, and when runner-up Jordan Spieth’s game unraveled, it drained the drama from Bubba Watson’s victory. But still, if Tiger had been anywhere on the leaderboard, there's no question that the buzz would have been audible.

Likewise, The Players Championship also took a big ratings hit, one year after Woods won the tournament that many consider the unofficial fifth major. Final-round ratings were down a whopping 54 percent from 2013, according to SportsMediaWatch.com, and they tied for the TPC’s lowest Sunday numbers of the last 15 years.

Again, to be fair, the fourth round had a 90-minute rain delay. But if Tiger had been in the hunt, tons more viewers would have stayed tuned in.

But the impact of Tiger’s absence as he heals from back surgery is about much more than metrics and Nielsen ratings.

Woods’ pursuit of Jack...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Golf

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