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Golf needs rival for Woods
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November 27, 2001: 6:08 p.m. ET
Superstar has been great for game, but sport has become too dependent on him.
A twice weekly column by Staff Writer Chris Isidore
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NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - I have a t-shirt at home that nicely sums up the game of golf. It reads: "I hate golf. I hate golf. 'Nice shot.' I love golf."
If the game of golf itself wore a variation of that shirt, it would read: "I love Tiger Woods. I love Tiger Woods. 'Tiger is having a bad tournament.' I hate Tiger Woods."
In a game that punishes slight mistakes by its players worse than any other, the sport's fans likewise punish its broadcasters and sponsors severely for any bad weekend by its greatest player.
Woods was again the top money winner in the just-ended golf season. But unlike 2000, when he won three of the game's four major tournaments, this year he was nowhere near the leaders when each of those three tournaments - the U.S. Open, the British Open and the PGA Championship - headed into weekend play.
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Broadcasters would like to see David Duval, right, become a worthy rival to Tiger Woods, but first they'd like to see them duel head-to-head more often. | |
That meant that the total number of weekend viewers for those three tournaments fell about 21 percent from the previous year. That was a big part of the reason the average number of viewers for all golf through the end of September, which includes most of the sport's season, came in about 5 percent below a year earlier, meaning the sport will see its first decline in audience since Woods turned pro.
"Every sport is dependent upon its stars or big teams. Golf has the biggest star in world, which is good news," said Rob Correa, senior vice president of programming for CBS Sports. "When he's not playing (among the leaders), it's natural that it's not going to get the same numbers as when he plays."
Of course all broadcasters hold their breath hoping for ideal match-ups in their sports' premier events. But golf seems to suffer a sharper decline when it loses its big star, and the drop-off is quicker than in other sports. Broadcasters and advertisers know weeks before who looks like they're going to be playing in a Super Bowl or baseball or basketball playoff. In golf hopes, and viewership, can be dashed in a blink of an eye by a bad Friday round.
What the sport really needs is for another major star to rise to give the sport, and Woods, one of the great rivalries that fans love even more than they love superstars. Muhammad Ali had Joe Frazier, Larry Bird had Magic Johnson, Martina Navratilova had Chris Evert.
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Sergio Garcia has a few tournament wins under his belt, but needs to accomplish more to be considered Woods' natural rival. | |
Tiger has a group of opponents who combined don't come near his major tournament total, let alone his public appeal. But Correa and other broadcast execs aren't holding their breath.
"He's so good to have one rival is really unrealistic," said Correa. "It's impossible to have multiple dominant players. What a lot of inside golf people say is Tiger's competition is not the guys he's competing against now, it's the next generation - it's Sergio Garcia. Maybe it's Ty Tryon. David Duval? Maybe. He has best chance to be Tiger's chief rival over the next five years. It would be nice to see them hook up on Sunday afternoon a little more, though."
But it's not without precedent for golf to have two or more superstars. The sport's first television-era star Arnold Palmer was challenged, and regularly beaten, by Jack Nicklaus, who despite his success was never the media draw that Palmer was.
Tryon is an interesting possibility to challenge Woods. The 17-year old is signing endorsement contracts and announced he's turning pro before he's even done with high school or gotten his PGA card. Tryon is making Woods, who played golf for two years of college, seem like a laggard by comparison. But right now he's all potential, with everything still to prove.
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Ty Tryon turned pro and signed endorsement contracts while still in high school, but his career is still all about potential at this point. | |
Garcia, the 21-year old Spanish star, has at least won a few tournaments and has the matinee idol looks that Woods has. But it's also too early to crown him as a worthy rival.
So golf's fortunes are likely to ride on Woods shoulders for the foreseeable future. And people like Correa and his advertisers will continue to worry about what kind of Thursday and Friday rounds the sport's meal ticket shoots week to week.
"We always worry," said Correa. "I'm a programming guy. We worry, and it has no effect on what is going to happen." 
Click here to send mail to Chris Isidore
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