Tiger Woods in position to gain as Dubai, Abu Dhabi events vie for appearance

Tiger can expect a big pay day in coming years from the UAE tournaments in a situation that Dubai Desert Classic tournament director Adrian Flaherty admits is an every-man-for-himself situation, writes Steve Elling.

Tiger Woods played the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship in 2012/13 but returned to the Omega Dubai Desert Classic this year. Ross Kinnaird / Getty Images

DUBAI // The signs dotting Sheikh Zayed Road on the route to Emirates Golf Club are colourful, flashy, enticing and hard to miss. Of course, that is the whole idea.

The billboards noting the upcoming UAE tour dates for Justin Timberlake, the Rolling Stones and Black Sabbath underscore the notion that when it comes to the increasingly competitive fight for customer entertainment dollars, it is proven headliners who pull fans into venues.

In golf, that means a certain frontman.

While Tiger Woods’s endorsement opportunities have thinned because of his personal issues and prickly temperament, business is booming in another regard for the world No 1, who has filled his coffers with a series of seven-figure, pay-for-play appearances and one-off play dates, like the one he will stage on Tuesday in India with the chief executive of Hero MotoCorp.

Demand for Woods appears especially high in the UAE, where the European Tour events in Abu Dhabi and Dubai could soon be wrangling over his presence in their annual Desert Swing events.

Woods played in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in 2012 and 2013 before returning to Dubai last week to appear in the 25th Omega Dubai Desert Classic, where he is a two-time champion. He has not signed a contract with either event for 2015, officials said, which creates an exciting dynamic for the 14-time major winner.

For Woods, it is a seller’s market.

While the title sponsor in Abu Dhabi has issued mixed signals about Woods’s presence in the field going forward, as far as Dubai is concerned, he is a crucial target. Woods has never played more than one Middle East event in the spring. Demand exceeds supply.

So, for the UAE events, it is every man for himself?

“Yeah, I think it is,” the Dubai tournament director Adrian Flaherty said. “Tournaments can put everything they can into getting him, and while we’re all part of the Middle East swing, there is that competitive edge that you want to have your best players.”

Where Woods lands, if he heads this way, will not be known for several months. The European Tour schedule for 2015 has not been finalised, and Woods usually works in a Middle East start after the date for Torrey Pines, on the PGA Tour, is finalised.

Moreover, with the Volvo Champions event possibly moving to Oman and joining the Desert Swing, the traditional Abu Dhabi and Dubai dates could get bumped up or back a week. As with Woods himself, it all bears watching.

“I like playing both [UAE] events,” said Woods, who has commanded appearance fees estimated between US$2.5 million (Dh9.1m) and $3m for his recent UAE visits. “I’ve enjoyed it. I’ve played well at both events on top of that.

“I also like playing at Torrey Pines, too. That course has been kind of good to me over the years. People don’t realise that it is based on scheduling, and sometimes it’s conflicted, and that some of the reasons why I didn’t play this [Dubai] event for a number of years is because it was the week of Torrey Pines.”

That said, he skipped Torrey to play in Abu Dhabi two years ago. Whether the Abu Dhabi event, celebrating its 10th anniversary next year, will pursue him with any vigour is unclear.

“He’s certainly a big draw, there is no doubt at all,” the HSBC sponsorship chief Giles Morgan said two weeks ago. “What I am pleased about is that there are a lot of other big draws, and those players coming through are the future of the game, rather than looking back always, just onto the sort of events that use one player to try to create the show.

“I want the best golfers, plural, to come, rather than to focus on a certain individual.”

Woods’s past two UAE visits have been messy, from a competitive standpoint. He missed the cut in Abu Dhabi last year and finished in a tie for 41st on Sunday.

Worse, after two weeks of reiterating that he was not rusty, Woods admitted that he spent little time working on his game over his winter break. Though Woods received an appearance fee, that admission did not seem to bother Flaherty.

As an autumn European Tour event in Turkey considers extending Woods a long-term contract offer after landing him for this year, mulling whether the allure of having the American star would wear thin after consecutive visits, Flaherty made it clear that he would love to sign Woods every year.

“The guy brings everything, the whole ballgame, to the tournament,” Flaherty said. “I don’t think the novelty factor ever wears off here. He is by far, for Dubai, the biggest and one of the greatest athletes who has ever been in this country. Everyone is always pleased to see him here.”

Flaherty has other big fish in mind, too. With Woods having committed to play in Dubai this year, the Abu Dhabi event signed Phil Mickelson, a five-time major winner and the second-winningest active player on the PGA Tour.

Mickelson finished second two weeks ago and blew away tournament officials with his approachability and fan-friendly demeanour. He has never played in Dubai.

“Phil would be a great one, just to have him here,” Flaherty said, grinning. “And I think this golf course would suit him well.”