Tiger Woods returns to competition on Thursday, and it appears to be just in the nick of time, if television ratings are anything to go by.
The 14-time major winner tees off at the US PGA National at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland, after three months out of action. He had back surgery to ease a pinched nerve that saw him miss both the Masters in April and the US Open earlier this month.
The American made all the right noises about being hungry for success, with next month’s British Open the focus, but it appears as if the sport has missed him even more.
Golf.com reported that TV ratings for the US Open, which was won at a canter by Martin Kaymer, was down 45 per cent on last year.
Now, not all of this was down to no Woods, as Kaymer won by eight shots. It was excellent golf by the German but it did not make for an enthralling spectacle.
The absence of Woods did not help. Ratings dropped when he was absent for the second half of 2008 with knee surgery, and history has repeated itself.
Woods may be a divisive figure with the public and media due to his behaviour away from the course, but it may be time to forget the past and appreciate the 38-year-old American while we have him.
Golf survived, and prospered, for a long time, before Woods came on the scene, but the small glimpses of life without him thus far are worrying, to say the least.
gcaygill@thenational.ae
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