If there's one event we can quickly point to, it's Tiger Woods' incredible fall from grace. Ever since Tiger's scandals came to light a year and a half ago, the planet's best golfer has been anything but the best. He has 0 (count 'em ZERO) wins since 2009. Falling from #1 to #6 in the world, Woods has yet to show that he can still dominate a round of golf. Not only has he not played well, he hasn't been playing much period. The smaller tournaments that used to get a boost from Tiger's presence are now after thoughts. Sports talk radio has no reason to even bring up these tourneys since nobody's watching. If Woods wants to get back himself and the PGA back on track, he needs to start playing more. An increase in exposure will definitely help his reputation and his game as well as the health of the sport.
Without Woods, the PGA desperately needs someone else to step up and take control. The problem is, parity is at an all-time high. In fact, over the last 10 major championships, we've had 10 different winners. That's a serious problem. High profile golfers garner higher ratings. When American favorite Phil Mickelson won the Masters last year, the world was captivated. Not to knock this year's Masters winner, Charl Schwartzel, but people simply don't care about winners when they've never heard of them. Schwartzel, a tour rookie, had no PGA victories before winning the coveted green jacket. Can you even name the 2009 Masters winner? If you guessed Angel Cabrera, congratulations. You're either a die hard golf fan, or you just googled it.
Pro Golf needs stars to get back into the spotlight. That's why popularity skyrocketed when Woods was dominating back in the 1990's and 2000's. So either Tiger needs to get it together, or another golfer needs to make a big run. Whether that's Phil or one of the recent major winners. Golf needs a winner again. I hope it happens again soon, because Sundays just aren't the same with the drama of the PGA.
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