Anyone else looking forward to a Tiger absence???

[steve8820]

Not sure, maybe it is just me, but I looking forward to watching golf the rest of the season without Tiger. Sure, the guy does amazing things on the course and is probably the greatest golfer to ever tee it up, but I cannot stand how the TV announcers handle a tournament when Tiger is in the field. It seems that every person they interview during the tourney has to get a Tiger related question about how amazing he is and basically how does it feel to play for second place. It is the same BS that NFL announcers did last year with Tom Brady and the Patriots...............I cannot stand it and was overjoyed when they went down.

For example, on Golf Central they had Rocco on the phone and asked him does the severity of Tiger's knee injury take away anything that Rocco accomplished that week. Give me a break..........

[Wisco-Kid]

No I am not looking forward to it. All the tournements are going to feel "empty" without him. I will still watch and I know that there are going to be some great battles but it just wont be the same without the Tiger factor.

[ERC7.5]

Absolutely not. Now we're just going to get pounded with commentary on "Lefty".

[Hoosamazilly]

I think you have to realize that he is the face of golf. And he will be for years to come. The amount of money that he generates for the game is crazy. Think about tv ratings for the rest of the year... Will anybody watch the British or the PGA now that Tigers out? Sure, but not all and if they do it will be just quick enough to see whose winning and then change the channel back to Rachel Ray. Tiger makes the game what it is today and I dont think its fair that you wont miss him, because the game will...

[pinbacksc]

uhhh...nooooooo way bud.

[LongIron]

I'm looking forward to it. I hate these people who watch golf just for tiger.

[Ruari]

I think you have to realize that he is the face of golf. And he will be for years to come. The amount of money that he generates for the game is crazy.

you're right, there, but most of it is in the US. The European Tour and the other four leading Tours have had to build themselves up without Tiger's presence. Not without an influence - Tiger has raised the profile of golf worldwide - but he really only plays on the PGA Tour.

Think about tv ratings for the rest of the year... Will anybody watch the British or the PGA now that Tigers out?

there will be an impact on the PGA unless it's sold very, very hard. British Open - less so, as it's in a different time zone and, while a proportion of the viewing figures come from the East Coast and Mid-West, maybe over breakfast, the main coverage is highlights. The main viewing figures for the championship as a whole are in Europe, the Mid-East and the Far East. That's not to say there won't be an impact but the viewing figures fluctuate far more in America when Tiger is/is not playing than, for example, in a European Tour event - because he only plays in two, outside the Majors and WGCs.

Sure, but not all and if they do it will be just quick enough to see whose winning and then change the channel back to Rachel Ray.

I agree - in America. If the tournament's exciting, people will watch, though. The US Open two years ago was exciting and Tiger missed the cut. People watched.

Tiger makes the game what it is today and I dont think its fair that you wont miss him, because the game will...

No disagreement there.

This does, though, give the PGA Tour a vision of the abyss it will stare down when Tiger retires. Its whole strategy is based around Tiger Woods - take him out and you have a big, big gap, which will be most apparent in the FedEx Cup Playoffs, IMO. He'll probably still be top of the points list - or very close to it - when the Playoffs come round. The 'empty chair' will be very eloquent. I think there will be a lot of chin-rubbing, in the PGA Tour offices and in sponsors' HQs. The money will be safe for this year - contracts are in place - and I expect it will be OK for next year, too, when Tiger's expected to be back. But there may be caveats in contracts and if he isn't the man he was - well, it won't look so good for 2010. Just at the time the Race to Dubai is gathering speed - a contest envisaged and constructed without Tiger's participation. In the short term, I would expect to see the US Grand Prix return and a lot of focus on Lewis Hamilton. Sport needs icons to attract attention - Tiger's the biggest but he's now going to be absent for at least eight months. Who else is in the frame to get people excited?

[Ruari]

But just another, perhaps controversial, thought -

Would it have been better for golf it Tiger HADN'T won the US Open?

[stealthduffer]

I hate to say it but I'm on your side. While Tiger is certainly one of (if not the singular) greats I really do find it annoying the way that TV golf obsesses with him. Even to the point that when he isn't IN a tournament they talk about him all the time. Let's give some credit to the guys who are there and are teeing it up.

I don't place any of this on Tiger - he definitely seems like a gentleman and a class act. But, of course, the media are as predictable as Pavlov's dogs and will hound (pun intended) it to death.

[Chas]

I'll miss the guy, but I won't miss the endlessly repetitive, tedious plaudits and the constant suggestion by witless commentators that all other golfers live in "fear" of him.

Wait a minute .... they'll just find ways to hype things up with someone else (e.g. Phil, as already suggested). *yawn*

I know what ...... let's have a hiatus from boring, annoying commentators instead. Maybe THAT would improve the ratings. There's always the mute key, but I like to hear the ball strike.

[CG031]

Yeah, I'll enjoy it because the other majors are so wide open and now and maybe my boy Bubba Watson can catch fire and win one.

[steve8820]

I hate to say it but I'm on your side. While Tiger is certainly one of (if not the singular) greats I really do find it annoying the way that TV golf obsesses with him. Even to the point that when he isn't IN a tournament they talk about him all the time. Let's give some credit to the guys who are there and are teeing it up.

I fully agree with your comments. My gripes come with the media and not Tiger. I watch golf because I love the game and Tiger being in the field has zero impact on this. I would've watched the same amount of the US Open regardless.

[bogeyhitter25]

I most certainly am. I get sick and tired of him winning.

[Ceej]

But just another, perhaps controversial, thought -

But as for looking forward to a Tiger absence. Definitely. Sure he's good for the game but having a break from every sports network kissing his feet will be... refreshing.

[Klean]

I'm not looking forward to it. He makes it more exciting and he's a walking highlight reel.

[albatross]

I'm not looking forward to it at all. How can you get sick of watching the best who's ever played the game.

Every big event that someone else wins for the rest of the year, should have an asterisk next to it and that's what you'll hear about.

People will say "so and so won the British in 2008 but it was the year Tiger wasn't there."

The guy completely dominates the game. Enjoy the fact that the best golfer there will ever be, is playing in your lifetime and you get to watch him.

I'll miss watching him this year.

[Ceej]

I'm not looking forward to it at all. How can you get sick of watching the best who's ever played the game.

[LottaBalata]

I'll miss seeing him play, for sure. As far as I'm concerned, there isn't another force in sports today as dominating as Tiger Woods. I would much rather see him kill the field weekly and finally have someone like a Rocco Mediate step up and make him work at it. Make him sweat the birdie to tie putts.

I would think a lot of the guys on tour are sick of playing against him, but I would also think many players would rather beat the best in the world and win the tournament too.

I don't understand why people hate so much.

As far as the majors left, I think the players who win will be remembered as "The winners that didn't have Tiger Woods in the field."