What would the PGA tour look like without Tiger??

[juanrjackson]

Tiger Woods gives Buick Open a big boost....

http://www.thegolfchannel.com/tour-i...g-boost-31161/

When I first got into golf Greg Norman was the man....but Tiger has taken it to the next level.

We got an example while Tiger was out last year.....but what if Tiger didn't exist....What would the PGA tour look like?? The NFL is the king of sports TV.....but would the PGA turn into a lower tier sport in America like the MLS..WNBA....XGames?

[lumpuckeroo]

Tiger has been a boost to the PGA Tour, but the Tour didn't start 12 years ago. I realize how much he has brought to the table, but even Tiger will admit he is not the Tour. There were many more before him and will be many more after him.

[mtsalmela80]

The PGA is a lower tier of sports considering sports fans.

You know who watches golf? golfers.

Everyone else watches football, baseball, etc...

I suppose TV ratings would go down, big deal.

[deronsizemore]

It would survive, but definitely would look different. There wouldn't be as much prize money up for grabs and there would be a lot of people not playing/watching who are now simply because of Tiger Woods.

I assume it wouldn't be a whole lot different for those avid golfers like myself as I just enjoy golf, so I would still watch, but you got a whole lot of people out there that wouldn't know golf existed if not for Tiger.

[DavidFehertysBike]

Phil would be even fatter...

[lumpuckeroo]

Phil would be even fatter...

Good one, since we are talking hypothically, maybe John Daly wasn't fatter. Maybe he wins the PGA, decides he is Tiger (or Jack with long hair) and takes the Tour by storm. With his working man persona, he might have brought a new group to golf much like Tiger did. While his appeal might not have been quite as broad as Tiger, he definitly was not Country Club born and bread, with John the mold was broken.

[mfreeman73]

I think Phil would be the top dog, but even he wouldn't pull people in like Tiger does. Like him or not, Tiger pulls in people like no one else. When watching the Tour on TV, they might as well call it the Tiger Show.

[enduro]

The tour would be much smaller. Tiger Woods brought a much larger audience to golf and much larger purses. Players will tell you they're grateful he came around because of all the money that can be made now.

I'd still watch but it would be not nearly as fun. Tiger is so intriguing to watch.

[Cussin hacker]

I watched before Tiger and I'll watch after. It will hurt the tour though.

[mcfc_nick]

Q: What would the PGA tour look like without Tiger??

A: much less interesting and a lot of fans of the game would be lost!

[unabowler]

The state of the game isn't very good right now as a spectator sport. If Woods is playing the story is "Will He or Won't He" (win), when he's not playing it's "Where Is He?? I'm not watching these other guys."

Without Woods it would be even worse, though, it would be like it was in the late 80s and early 90s: "Who are these guys anyway?"

[Dave]

Less people screaming "GET IN THE HOLE!" when players tee off on a 4 par.

[juanrjackson]

[QUOTE=unabowler;346799]The state of the game isn't very good right now as a spectator sport. If Woods is playing the story is "Will He or Won't He" (win), when he's not playing it's "Where Is He?? I'm not watching these other guys."

To me at least....golf is a better TV watching sport....than in-person sport. Being there is exciting....but you can only watch 1 hole at a time....when birdies/eagles happen on other holes...you just miss them. At least on TV they can rotate from hole to hole.

From a non-golf fan's point of view...without Tiger (or maybe John Daly) golf is just a boring country club monolithic group of guys that rarely show any emotion in what they do.

[dragonflyin]

Smaller prize pools.

[pittpanther]

From a non-golf fan's point of view...without Tiger (or maybe John Daly) golf is just a boring country club monolithic group of guys that rarely show any emotion in what they do.

And don't underestimate the number of golfers who liked it that way, and want it to go back to that way...

Their arguments usually follow some form of "disrespecting the game": - The 17th hole at the Buick disrepects the game - Daly's loud pants disrespects the game - If a 30-handicapper hits into the woods and kicks his ball back onto some grass, he is disrespecting the game - etc. These guys don't want golf to grow, don't want golf to attract new fans. They like it the way it was - a boring, county-club, monolithic group of guys...

[uttexas]

Tiger has advanced golf in many ways. His mental and physical ability to play the game has set the bar extremely high for generations to come. The money that he has brought to golf contributed to the funding of technological advancements we've seen in club and ball technology. He increased the popularity of the game, enabling many new golf courses to be built. He is truly inspiring to watch. He has a gazillion dollars and a growing family and hasn't lost any of his enthusiasm or determination.

Negatives--the course might be a little more crowded on the weekends.

[uttexas]

what would the PGA tour look like if Tiger never existed?

We'd probably see less of the tour on TV. The tour would not be able to have as many events (especially the ones after the PGA championship). Just don't think they could survive financially. The Golf Channel couldn't exist in its current form without Tiger. The GC couldn't afford to broadcast the first two rounds, so we'd probably never see them.

We've recently had 9 months without Tiger. Love Angel Cabrera and Padraigs alright, but they can't dominate nor have the charisma of Tiger. The PGA tour would be less inspiring/exciting to watch. No one would rise to the top and advance the game like Tiger has. Even when Norman was clearly the most talented golfer in the world, Faldo ended up winning more majors. It would be a similar scenario. Phil/ Vijay and Sergio probably have the next best talent, but players like Cabrera, Harrington, Ogilvy, Cink, and Immelman would grind out major championships. When you watch Tiger, you are seeing greatness that you may never see again.

[sean_miller]

Beige and bland. I'd miss his hit antics and his Sunday reds.