{"id":1368,"date":"2014-12-04T18:02:42","date_gmt":"2014-12-04T18:02:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/prometheus\/?p=1368"},"modified":"2014-12-04T18:02:42","modified_gmt":"2014-12-04T18:02:42","slug":"tiger-woods-is-back-meaning-we-can-watch-golf-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/prometheus\/2014\/12\/04\/tiger-woods-is-back-meaning-we-can-watch-golf-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Tiger Woods Is Back, Meaning We Can Watch Golf Again"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"woods2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Roger Pielke, Jr. quoted in a Atlanta Blackstar article:<\/p>\n

Tiger Woods Is Back, Meaning We Can Watch Golf Again<\/strong>
\nby Curtis Bunn<\/strong><\/p>\n

Atlanta Blackstar<\/strong><\/em><\/a>
\nDecember 2, 2014<\/p>\n

Whether Tiger Woods is playing beautifully or like a weekend hacker, he is more interesting to watch than some of\u2014most of\u2014the PGA Tour\u2019s top players. So, believe me when I say all elements of the golf world embrace his return this week after almost four months off at the Hero World Challenge in Islesworth, Fl.<\/p>\n

Why? Because he moves the meter. Woods, the only Black player on the PGA Tour, inspires viewers, brings people out, increases purses.<\/p>\n

He has hardly been the same player since his personal life unraveled in public and injuries piled up. But beating Woods remains a significant feat for tour players. Fans tune in to watch him flourish or struggle. He\u2019s that magnetic.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s hoping, as are many fans, that he is over the injuries and can return to consistent competitive golf after playing in just eight tournaments last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited that I have this much time off to obviously heal and get stronger and get my game in order for next year,\u201d said Woods, whose season was halted by March 31 back surgery and another back injury in August. \u201cI went through a period there for the last year, year and a half, where I didn\u2019t really practice that much.\u201d<\/p>\n

The golf world missed him. His impact can be measured in viewers and dollars. As talented as Rory McIlroy is and others on Tour, they do not make golf fans want to tune in. Woods attracts the fan and the person who just wants to see what he\u2019s doing.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how it shows up: The 2013 U.S. Open, a coveted major, with Woods participating pulled a 6.1 Nielsen rating. With Woods out because of injury this year, the ratings dropped to 3.3. The 2013 Masters with Woods drew a whopping 10.2. Without Woods in 2014, the numbers dipped signficantly to 7.8.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s power.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not saying anyone has to be a cheerleader,\u201d Sean Foley, the swing coach Woods fired a few months ago, said. \u201cBut at least be fair, have some respect. I think when he came on the tour the purse was about $70 million and this year it\u2019s $297 million. That escalation over 20 years is attributable to one person\u2019s influence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Money talks.<\/p>\n

This is how Roger Pielke Jr. of SportingIntelligence broke down what he calls the \u201cTiger Woods effect\u201d:<\/p>\n

The PGA Tour distributed $101 million in prize money in 1996, which was Woods\u2019 final year before turning pro, and $292 million in 2008, the last year of Woods\u2019 amazing run of dominance.<\/p>\n

The 9.3 percent average annual increase in prize money during the Tiger era is nearly triple the 3.4 percent average annual increase that the tour experienced in the six years before Tiger joined the Tour.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s power.<\/p>\n

Further, according to Pielke, the PGA Tour distributed $3.1 billion in prize money between 1997 and 2008. If Tiger didn\u2019t exist and the prize money kept increasing by 3.4 percent per year instead of 9.3 percent per year, the tour would have only headed out $1.5 billion.<\/p>\n

So, when he tees it up on No. 1 Thursday, even those who would rather see him continue to struggle are glad to see him back. He makes it better\u2014and richer\u2014for everyone. Read more \u2026<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Roger Pielke, Jr. quoted in a Atlanta Blackstar article: Tiger Woods Is Back, Meaning We Can Watch Golf Again by Curtis Bunn Atlanta Blackstar December 2, 2014 Whether Tiger Woods is playing beautifully or like a weekend hacker, he is … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-05 06:56:44","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category"},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/prometheus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/prometheus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/prometheus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/prometheus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/prometheus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1368"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/prometheus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1368\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1370,"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/prometheus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1368\/revisions\/1370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/prometheus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/prometheus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ciresblogs.colorado.edu\/prometheus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}