Does Tiger join the European Tour in 2009

[shredfit]

I am so referencing. And if they are paying players to show up, and it works, great. That was their goal: to get higher profile players to show up to increase the depth of the field. They don't have prestige, so they have cash.

Yup! I remember watching the tourney(Dubai) and one of the announcers said something about it. He even gave a $$$ amount(which was in the millions). Then, he stated "but, we aren't suppose to talk about that". I suspect he must have got dirty looks from the producer or something... and then they changed the subject. It just sounded kind of weird(how the conversation just ended, almost like someone pulled the plug). Anyone else remember this?

[Shindig]

Yup! I remember watching the tourney(Dubai) and one of the announcers said something about it. He even gave a $$$ amount(which was in the millions). Then, he stated "but, we aren't suppose to talk about that". I suspect he must have got dirty looks from the producer or something... and then they changed the subject. It just sounded kind of weird(how the conversation just ended, almost like someone pulled the plug). Anyone else remember this?

I didn't witness this, so I am speculating here.

There are any number of reasons for this. It could be innocent, that saying "here's Tiger, he was paid $X to be here!" is distracting from the golf. Or it could be that the sponsors didn't want that said on the air. That they might not want to advertise how much they paid Tiger to be there doesn't mean that they aren't using their money to attract players.

[JonnyGolf]

I gotta think with a 1yo at home and Jack's record within range, he's not going to be tempted by the money to play more. He already has to play more events than he wants to for the FedEx cup.

[TourSpoon]

*Disclaimer - this response is for entertainment purposes only*


Maybe Tiger will just start playing more obscure events all over the world in the hopes of converting the earth's population to drink more Gatorade. Once it becomes the official drink of The Earth, he will have total world dominance and will lead us all into enlightenment. Just like Jim Jones.

[shredfit]

*Disclaimer - this response is for entertainment purposes only*

Nice!

[flash]

He would need 4 more, give or take. And being associated with the biggest tourney on earth is I think too much for him to ignore...

I totally agree.My take on this is that the European Tour top brass has found a way to entice T.W. to play more tourneys overseas which in turn will bring more $$ in revenue.Question is will Mr. Woods take the bait.

[vvrinne]

Whatever his reasons I doubt it will be to show the world he can be #1 on both tours. Had he been a member of the ET he would have won the order of merit something like 6+ times in the last 9 years if I remember correctly. I think he would've been beaten only in 2003 and 2004. And this by participating in something like 7 tournaments compared to the usual 20-30 by the people that usually win the order of merit. Doesn't really leave much to prove I think

[Jeepthrills]

If he won the Order of Merit he should then ask to be traded to Europe so he can win the Ryder Cup.

Obviously Tiger makes tons of money. I don't begrudge him a penny. I assume any company that pays him to promote their product knows that it will likely pay for itself many times over. At this point I would still say he is more motivated by winning than cash. If it was about money he would be playing more events each year. He could mop up at most of the smaller tour stops. He would also play more Fall series events. The huge money is just a result of his dominance.

[albatroz]

Tiger has his priorities map out . I doubt if he will participate in all 11 envents leading to the final the Dubai event .. His appearance money alone is much more than the First prize pot . Keeping diplomacy with Dubai who happens to be his client for Golf Course develop[ment is part of his priority.