PGA Tour A House Of Cards?

For all those freaking out about the state of golf, specifically the PGA Tour, with all of the Tiger Woods ha-bub; relax. Tiger will play golf again, sometime in the next few months probably, and he'll win again, probably in the same time frame. Unsettling as it may be to find out the golf deity turned out not only to be fallible, but seriously fallible, he is still the best in the game and the game wants him back. Now there are those who wonder if it makes no difference when Tiger comes back to play because the Tour may already have suffered the death blow. Take this statement from Tom Lehman for example;

"You can't ever build your whole house on one brick," said PGA Tour star Tom Lehman. "That's what the Tour did. You can't really blame them. It's kind of a Catch-22. You can have a guy that is SO good and makes things SO much better, it's like everybody else doesn't exist. But now what? The Tour has to try to market some of the other really good players it has. It has to try to build a house of cards that doesn't fall apart when one card falls, but I don't know. It might be too late."

Too late? Too late! A house of cards!? Look, the Tour got along just fine after Jack and before Tiger. Relax. When you win 14 majors and over 70 tournaments in a just over a decade no additional marketing is required. The hype about Tiger was built through his junior and amateur achievements. Then all Woods did was take the hype and live up to it on the course. The Tour is not responsible for building a house on one brick. It was never meant to showcase one player and have everyone else an extra in the film. Tom also needs to remember that Tiger plays about half the events. So what has the Tour done in Tiger's off time (apparently spent doing...alright we'll leave that one be)? Laid down and died? No, world class golfers played world class golf. As I pointed out last year the other Tour stops may want to steal a page or two from the FBR (Phoenix) Open. Tiger hasn't played in Scottsdale for years and yet well over a half million people show up during the week. Proof you don't need Woods to draw a huge crowd, just make it an event.

A statement like Lehman's also implies a fear shared by some that Tiger might never play golf again or that when he does it won't matter because he's ruined. Lower the threat meter a notch or two. Tiger will play again and win and people will start to do what they did before; respect his talent. Tiger was never a media darling to begin with or personable with the commoners in the crowds. It was always about his pursuit for history and how he was going to do it through will, desire and effort. Fanfare and crowd inspiration never seemed part of the deal with Woods. Like that certain someone you intentionally ignored in high school to get their attention we ate it up and basked in his professional glory as he walked by us all. Now through his personal foibles any respect outside the game will be difficult to earn back unless Tiger pulls a total one-eighty and levels with us, but that seems unlikely. Make no mistake though, he will come back, he will win and like it or not we will watch.

Personally for me what I find hardest about all of this hoopla and negative press is this; it is unprecedented for golf to have this happen. As a club professional I have always taken great pride in the history of the game, the etiquette and especially that golf was never a part of the tabloids/police blotter thanks to being a gentleman's game. The worst 'pub' was along the lines of Steve Williams calling out Phil Mickelson for not showing the proper respect for being Tiger's caddy. Whoa, scandalous. With the hint that steroids are being used and now this mess with Tiger's indiscretions golf is now finding itself wrapped up in ugliness it had always easily avoided. However, it's not too late Tom. As the saying goes, this too shall pass. The 2010 season is set to begin and I for one am excited. Let the cards fall where they may, not build the foundation.