Tiger Woods' Absence Will Present A Test To The PGA Tour

The next two weeks will give the PGA Tour an insight into whether or not they can flourish without the presence of Tiger Woods.

We all know that Woods will be out of the picture most likely until the US Open in Mid-June.

Over the past two weeks the big story in golf has not been the Verizon Heritage or the EDS Byron Nelson Championship, but has been Woods’ absence from the tour, the progress of his recovery and speculation as to exactly when he may return.

The Verizon Heritage and the EDS Byron Nelson Championship are not among the top PGA Tour tournaments in terms of popularity and strength of the field.

Even if Woods had not shocked everyone by undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery the day after the Masters concluded, he still would not have attended the Heritage or the Byron Nelson Championship.

The next two weeks however present the PGA Tour with it’s largest test as to whether the tour can continue to thrive even without Tiger Woods.

The Wachovia Championship, played this week at Quail Hollow Country Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the Players Championship played next week at TPC Sawgrass in Florida are two of the biggest tournaments on tour outside of the Majors and possibly the FedEx Cup Championship.

The Players Championship is even referred to as the fifth major.

Had Woods been healthy he would have undoubtedly attended both events.

But the tournaments will go on without Tiger Woods thus presenting the first true test on life without Tiger.

Needless to say, ticket sales and TV ratings are far higher when Woods attends a tournament as opposed to when he does not.

According to research done on Woods’ effect on television ratings in 2007, tournaments in which he finished in the top five had a 171% increase in CBS’ ratings over those in which he did not play or wasn’t in contention.

Furthermore, according to Nielsen Media Research, the viewer ratings for the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which Tiger won by sinking a dramatic birdie putt on the 18th, represented a 68% increase last year’s ratings when Woods was not on the leader board.

It is quite obvious by ticket sales and television ratings that a large portion of fans attending PGA Tour events or watching events on TV simply do so because of Tiger Woods.

Television ratings and demand for tickets drop dramatically when Woods is not attending an event.

Entire tournaments can close down simply by Woods decision not to attend.

The Barclay’s Classic has been located at Westchester Country Club in New York since 1967 and was one of the most well respected tournaments on tour. So much so that it was chosen as the inaugural FedEx Cup Tournament last August.

Woods typically skips the Barclays because he does not like the course at Westchester Country Club.

Woods dislikes the course so much that he even decided to forgo the inaugural FedEx Cup tournament, much to the chagrin of the PGA Tour, Barclays and FedEx.

So how does the PGA Tour address this?

They terminate their contract with Westchester Country Club after forty years and move the tournament to a different location which will better the chances of Tiger’s participation.

Though Woods is essentially responsible for the explosion of the popularity of professional golf, some might say that the Tour is too intertwined with Woods.  But, why wouldn't the tour put Woods at the forefront of everything they do?  He is probably the greatest golfer to ever play the game and he is in the absolute prime of his career right now.

ESPN ran an article recently about how Woods’ recent knee injury demonstrates just how fragile his play on the course and his quest for Nicklaus’s record of Major wins really is. One injury, mental breakdown or other hindrance to his game could blow the whole thing right out of the water.

While the rest of the field at the Wachovia Championship and Players Championship are surely overcome with excitement at the opportunity to win these events without having to face Woods, PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem and executives at CBS and NBC Sports are surely sweating through their shirts from fear of how the next two weeks will play out without Tiger Woods.

Tiger Woods will not be around forever. If he is lucky, his prime could last another 10-15 years. But as ESPN pointed out, even that is a very fragile prediction when it really comes down to it.

So what will happen after Tiger Woods?

Hopefully we won’t have to think about that for some time but the next two weeks will give some form of insight into what the Tour might be like without Woods.