Persistent Parity: Why Golf No Longer Needs Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods is widely considered the greatest to ever pick up a set of sticks and golf his ball. He has brought unprecedented swagger, dominance, and global exposure to a game that many don't typically consider a "sport."

Golf is now a $76 billion industry—larger than film, music, and newspapers, according to Golf procon.org.

Unfortunately, Tiger turned out to be a falsely advertised brand. His PR-crafted image was tarnished in the aftermath of an astonishing personal scandal that surfaced in November 2009. Suddenly, his responses in interviews seemed short, crass, and condescending, whereas similar rhetoric was previously dismissed due to fascination with his perceived ultra competitiveness and intensity.

Even through all the personal struggles Tiger endured, and his off-course behavior, he still has many fans across the world who want him to return to his consistent contending ways because he still undoubtedly generates a ton of interest. If he's in contention in any tournament, it's a top story. If he's not, and it's a major championship, the leaders are an afterthought. Headlines mention his standing, regardless of how far off the pace he is.

However, golf does not need Tiger to thrive. Ratings have never been bolstered by anyone as much as Tiger himself, but it's resulted in an increased golf fan base that has created more loyal followers. This can only garner more appreciation for a healthy injection of young, talented, and personable players, including Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson, Nick Watney, Ryo Ishikawa, Chris Wood, John Huh, Matteo Manassero, and most prominently Keegan Bradley, the 2011 PGA Champion, and Rory McIlroy, who has flip-flopped for over a month for the top spot in the Official World Golf Ranking with current world No. 1 Luke Donald.

Another refreshing aspect about the youngsters is that they are well-mannered and display good sportsmanship on the course. The spirit of golf, fair or unfair, arguably holds its players to the highest standard of personal conduct in all of sports. As much electricity as Tiger brings to a tournament, he  brings an unprecedented amount of baggage with his on-course antics and profanity-laden blowups. It is something that is not wanted or needed in the game. None of the greats or current emerging stars have done anything resembling Tiger's outbursts because such tirades harm the integrity of the game.

After Arnold Palmer faded as golf's first true superstar, the game survived. Gary Player was emerging near the same time. Then Jack Nicklaus rose, and years later, Tiger Woods said hello to the world. Plenty of big names have filled perceived voids in professional golf history of individual mega stars. Gene Sarazen, Walter Hagen, Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, Lee Trevino, and Tom Watson, are all Hall of Fame players who laid the foundation for modern golf, but didn't dominate completely as separate individuals. Even today, Phil Mickelson has 40 PGA Tour victories, tied for ninth all-time, and four major championships.

No player has stepped up in Tiger's absence to claim dominance, but with the emergence of so many  young talents, it's possible that parity may "plague" the Tour, although it has provided wonderful storylines at recent majors:

McIlroy (2011 US Open): won by eight strokes in Tiger-esque fashion at Congressional. The young Northern Irishman shattered the Open scoring record with a staggering 16-under-par total of 268. This wire-to-wire major performance came after a collapse at the Masters, where he shot a final round 80 after sleeping on a four-shot lead.

Darren Clarke (2011 Open Championship): finally won the Claret Jug in his 20th attempt at Royal St. George's, struggling all season through inconsistent play and incredulous weather. Last April, Clarke's manager confirmed that he nearly quit golf entirely, but managed to hang tough long enough and grind out a well-deserved first major championship. He dedicated the victory to his late wife, Heather, who passed away in 2006 after battling breast cancer.

Bradley (2011 PGA Championship): the young American beat upstart Jason Dufner by one stroke in a 3-hole playoff. Bradley has continued putting himself in contention consistently, and is on track to join the US Ryder Cup team in September.

Bubba Watson (2012 Masters): hit one of the most phenomenal shots in golf history: a gap wedge that hooked 40 yards and found the No. 10 green. Louis Oosthuizen hoped to prove his 2010 Open Championship win was no fluke, but failed to get up and down for par, allowing Watson to two-putt his way to victory on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff. The victory put the impossibly long, completely self-taught, and touchingly genuine Watson on the map.

2012 has thus far been among the most exciting years in recent PGA Tour memory. Of 23 events, seven have gone to a playoff. Tiger's absence is a story in and of itself: the intrigue as to who will become the "next big thing." Whether Tiger ever returns near the exceptional form that won him 14 majors and countless other tournaments remains to be seen, as does who will step up and become the new face of golf.

Regardless of who the new face eventually is, golf is bigger than one individual; even Tiger Woods.