[ad_1]
ALREADY in the final chapter of one of the best races in golf, Tiger Woods may have written a shocking ending to that story Tuesday when the 15-major winner was involved in a car accident and was taken to the hospital with multiple injuries.
Battered by years of back and knee surgeries, Woods has recently spent as much time off the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) Tour recovering from injury and on the course, giving the golfing world an unsettling glimpse of what could be the future. as without your larger drawing card.
“I think golf has adapted to the fact that Tiger will no longer be actively participating in events on a regular basis,” Neal Pilson, head of Pilson Communications and former president of CBS Sports, told Reuters. “I think he has lifetime exemptions on all major events, but I suspect that we probably won’t see Tiger at a competitive golf event in the future.
“In his prime, it was clearly established if Tiger was playing on Sunday, the numbers for Sunday’s coverage generally went up 25-30%,” Pilson said. “If he doesn’t play again, we will surely miss him.”
Almost from the moment he burst onto the professional scene in 1996, Woods has been the tide that lifted all ships, a crossover star who took television ratings, portfolios and endorsements to spectacular heights.
With more viewers came more sponsors and bigger portfolios, with Woods creating a new class of golf millionaires.
That popularity made Woods one of the richest athletes. Forbes anointing him in 2009 as the first athlete to reach $ 1 billion in professional earnings (prize money and endorsements).
Along with injuries, Woods, 45, has survived several scandals throughout his career, including an arrest in 2017 on the charge of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Tuesday there was no indication that Woods was under the influence of any substance at the time of the accident.
If Tuesday’s car accident was purely an accident, and even if it affects Woods’ ability to play golf in the future, his longtime sponsors may stay with him, said Patrick Rishe, director of the university’s sports business program. Washington in St. Louis.
“Due to his historic success, it is still worth partnering with him,” Rishe said. “There are a lot of athletes who still support the brand and who have been retired for a long time.”
REVOLUTIONARY GOLF
For more than a decade, golf has waited for Woods’ successor to emerge from a crop of prodigious hitters and skilled young players, but none have been able to capture his mantle or the imagination of the golfing public.
There were signs that Woods had been about to pass the torch – not to World No. 1 Dustin Johnson or Rory McIlroy, but to his son Charlie – when they teamed up last November at the PNC Championship, a joint family tournament. PGA / LPGA Tour.
Woods, 45, showed he had some of his father’s golf genes, from swinging his club to walking on a birdie putt. The greatest golfer of his generation, Woods, as the sport’s first African-American superstar, did more than rewrite the record book, but changed the way golf is played and viewed, bringing diversity to a sport that had been the domain. of the white middle class. .
With power never seen before, Woods revolutionized the game, forcing golf courses, even the iconic Augusta National, to tiger-proof designs.
While Woods appears to have another long and grueling road back to fitness in front of him, one of the hallmarks of his remarkable career has been stamina.
Former President Barack Obama wished Woods a speedy recovery in a tweet Tuesday night, adding: “If we’ve learned anything over the years, it’s never to write off Tiger.” – Reuters
[ad_2]
