Thoughts on the Masters, Tiger’s Return

The golfing world is set for a weekend to remember, as the top portion of the leaderboard at Augusta is, for golf fans, a thing of beauty.

Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter are tied for the lead at -8.

Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Anthony Kim, KJ Choi, and Anthony Barnes all sit at -6.

Y.E. Yang, last year’s PGA Championship winner, sits at -5.

Let me first say that I have predicted that Tiger will win this tournament ever since he said that his first tournament back would be the Masters.

Everyone said that Tiger should have played a tune-up round one of the weekends before the Masters, and that Tiger would be rusty.

With apologizes to those people, that assessment just wasn’t accurate. Tiger Woods knows what he is doing. Just because Tiger was not playing in a tournament, does not mean that he was not practicing just as hard for the Masters. If Tiger did not think that he had an excellent chance at winning the Masters, he would not have made it his first tournament back in 2010.

Say what you want about Tiger’s off the course behavior, but the guy is not a criminal. And say what you want about Tiger, and no golfing fan can deny that not only is he great for the game, but he is likely the best thing that ever happened to the game of golf.

One thing that some people forget, is that his fellow players, the guys that he is defeating on a regular basis, would 100% agree with that notion.

Obviously you have the money factor. Tiger has brought the sport so much added revenue and publicity, that these other guys’ paychecks have gone up dramatically over the course of Tiger’s career. Every golfer that makes a cut, cashes a check for the tournament. The prize money has increased significantly over the past 15 years.

Not only that, but endorsements in golf are at an all-time high. If Tiger Woods’ Nike endorsement was not so popular, Phil Mickelson’s Calloway sponsorship would not be as important or visible.

Most of all though, Tiger gives these guys a name. After Tiger’s debut into golf, whenever he does not play, ratings are way down. Last year at the Masters, one of the biggest television audiences in golf history witnessed Phil and Tiger in contention together at the Masters on the back 9. What they also witnessed, was Angel Cabrera winning the Masters.

If Tiger and to a lesser extent Phil were not in the race there, the fans that were tuned in to see Cabrera win, would not have still been watching the end of that match.

In fact, to casual golf fans, I think it is fair to say that most people remember Cabrera’s win last year, more than they remember Padraig Harrington’s 2 majors in a row in 2009; 2 tournaments that Tiger Woods did not play in.

Millions of casual golf fans turn on their TV’s on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon in the summer, and they see Rocco Mediate playing. Oh, there’s Rocco! Rocco Mediate is the 198th ranked golfer in the world, but is undoubtedly one of the top 15 most recognized golfers in the world.

Who does Rocco have to thank for that increased exposure? Tiger Woods, whom he dueled with at the 2008 US Open in an epic win for Tiger playing on one leg.

Tiger Woods is good for the sport. The whole world will be tuned into the Masters this weekend.

They will be tuned in to see if Phil can avoid the late-tournament meltdown, and to see if legendary golfer Tom Watson can hang in there to be in contention late on Sunday.

But most of all, they will be watching Tiger. They will be tuned in to see if Tiger can start the second chapter of his storied golfing career, the same way that he wrote so much of his first chapter.

And perhaps golfing fans across the world will be able to meet a new golfing icon, the same way that they met Rocco Mediate in 2008, and Angel Cabrera and Y.E. Yang in previous majors.

If so, they’ll be thanking Mr. Eldrick Woods.

As will the rest of the golfing world, for restoring the drama and intensity that only Tiger can bring to living rooms across the country and beyond.