Tiger Has Become Bigger Than the PGA

A little sports stuff - some folks in the lower ranks of the PGA tour are upset that Tiger Woods has been allowed to start his own tournament in Washington D.C. which replaces another tournament that couldn't get sponsorship....because Tiger didn't agree to appear:

At this time of year the notion of madness, as it relates to sports, anyway, is most closely associated with college basketball.

By no means, however, are the other sports immune.

Take golf.

Rich Beem has gone mad. So, too, have Brad Faxon and Heath Slocum.

The testy trio, names casual fans might not recognize, is taking aim at the golden goose of golf, which, of course, isn't a goose at all. It's a Tiger. Beem and his misguided malcontents are, to use Beem's word, ``insulted'' that the world's No. 1 player, Tiger Woods, is getting his own tournament.

Actually, they're unhappy that Tiger's party isn't an open house. No riff-raff. It's a more selective, invitation-only affair.

It all started when Woods, along with the power brokers at the PGA Tour, about two weeks ago christened a new tournament, the AT&T National. The event, scheduled for July 5-8 in Washington at a location to be determined (probably Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland), will be hosted by Tiger and operated by his foundation.

Seems simple. Only here's the catch -- as Beem sees it, anyway:

Tiger's tournament replaces the International, a Colorado event dropped from the schedule because -- and here's where Beem and his boys need to pay close attention -- organizers couldn't find a sponsor without assurances that Tiger would tee it up.

In other words, no Tiger meant no sponsor, no TV, no prize money, no nothing.

The Tiger Show

If Tiger doesn't show, at least periodically, there's a good chance the tournament dies.

They know as much in Washington, which held a Tour event every year since 1968 before being left off this season's schedule as organizers sought a sponsor to replace Booz Allen Hamilton Inc.

Woods -- surprise, surprise -- rarely played in the event.

Like it or not, Tiger is, indeed, more powerful than the PGA Tour.

The reality is that nobody pays to see Rich Beem, Brad Faxon or Heath Slocum play golf, but lots of people are willing to pay to see Tiger play, and if he's surrounded by the best in the game, sponsorship and TV ratings will follow. It may not be completely fair to the journeymen of the PGA, but that's the world of golf today. If these guys want an invitation to Tiger's show, they need to practice.