Here's Part 1 of my Tiger Woods blogs.
Today's topic: Is golf more exciting when Tiger is not playing?
So the PGA Tour is now screwed, right? The biggest star they've ever had is taking an "indefinite" leave from golf to deal with his ongoing family issues. The last time Tiger took time off was a year and a half ago to undergo knee surgery and the TV ratings plummeted.
It is clear that people tune in to watch Tiger Woods dominate week in and week out. But if you're a hardcore golf fan, like myself, do you want to see total domination or intense drama on Sunday?
Most of the tournaments Tiger played in last year were routs from the beginning and resulted in a final round where Woods played conservative boring golf to hold his 3 or 4 shot lead.
ZZZZZZZZ.......
The PGA basically consists of Tiger Woods and then the rest of the field. He is so much more dominating than the rest of the tour. The rest of the field is almost equal to each other and when Tiger is out of contention, it creates more dramatic, unforgettable and exciting finishes.
Here's a few recent major tournaments where Tiger was either not in the field or out of contention.
Examples:
2009 British Open- The Tom Watson comeback
2009 Masters- Three-way playoff
2008 PGA Champ.- Harrington/Garcia duel
2008 British Open- Greg Norman comeback
2007 British Open- Harrington/ Garcia playoff
2006 US Open- Mickelson Collapse
These tournaments, without Tiger Woods anywhere near the top of the leaderboard, will be remembered forever. And then there's the tournaments where Tiger plays:
2009 BMW Championship- Tiger wins by 8 shots
2009 Bridgestone Invitational- Tiger wins by 4 shots
2009 Buick Open- Tiger wins by 3 shots
That was just this past year. We won't mention where he won by 12 shots and 15 shots at major tournaments.
I hate it when people say golf is boring to watch but it sure is boring when Tiger is kicking everybody's ass. Yet the ratings are at their peak.
If Tiger takes this indefinite leave, it will give the PGA a chance to develop and promote other superstars to the audience. Of course there's Vijay Singh, Phil Mickelson, but those guys are in their 40's and their days of winning tournaments are dwndling. The PGA doesn't seem to take the time to focus on the young stars, the future of the sport. Tiger's break is giving the PGA a chance to do this, but if they don't, and Tiger announces he's quitting golf....the PGA is totally screwed.
But here's what's going to happen. Tiger will take the first 3 months off and will make his much-anticipated comeback in the biggest golf tournament of the year, The Masters in April. You heard it here first. And more likely than not, he'll go back to his usual dominating self.
The point of the blog is this. I watch sports because it is dramatic and unpredictable. When Tiger Woods plays golf, it is boring and predictable. Personally, I enjoy watching golf more when Tiger is not playing, unlike most of the American people.
So keep the mistresses coming, because the more they are revealed, the more time Tiger takes off golf, and the more Sundays I spend watching golf on Sunday afternoons.
Tiger was in contention at the PGA this year. That tounament was neither predictable nor unexciting.
ReplyDeleteIf you remember correctly, the first 3 rounds of that tournament were SOOOO boring. He dominated and held like a 3-shot lead heading into Sunday. Had he not choked for the first time in his career on Sunday, that would have been the most unexciting tournament of the year. But for some reason, he choked so hard. He must have had other things on his mind.....
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