By JON KELLEY
What affect does Tiger Woods have on golf? Besides winning, which seems to happen in most of the tournaments he enters, he is actually good for the other players also. Television viewers like to see Tiger compete and win.
Tiger’s missing the 2008 British Open resulted in its smallest audience in 17 years. The next major that he missed, the PGA, was the least-watched major since the ratings began.
When Tiger wins a major, TV ratings are typically 20-30 percent higher. This is why Tiger Woods is so important to professional golf. Higher TV ratings mean more TV revenues resulting in larger prize funds for all the players. Tiger’s return earlier this year from injury should help golf through the recession. After all, he is one of the biggest names in all of sports today.
Now, what about him finally losing a major when leading after three rounds? It’s the first time this has happened after leading and winning 14 majors.
Is something wrong with Tiger? I don’t think so. Instead, I think there was something right with Y.E. Yang. Normally players seem to wilt at the end of a major when Tiger is in the hunt. Yang played his game and quite well at that. Tiger actually played well, but could not get the putts to drop. It was bound to happen sooner or later. Someone was bound to shoot a good round in a major to beat Tiger. It might have been the first time, but probably won’t be the last.
I have a different question. When will Tiger come from behind to win a major? Maybe he can start a new trend on his way to topping Jack Nicklaus’ major count of 18.
Now what about Yang? He becomes the first Asian-born man to win a major. He played a lot of clutch shots two of which were the chip-in for eagle and his great shot into the 18th green. His win should create even larger interest in golf in Asia. From a bigger picture perspective, it is good for the game. Not only that, the TV ratings had to be well up there!
Course rankings
So, what course has the best players? Golf Digest researchers recently rated American’s golf clubs by their playing ability. Clubs were ranked using the lowest 10 handicap indexes as a measure of playing ability. No professionals were included and no more than four college aged kids were included from each club.
The list contains some big name clubs such as Congressional in Maryland, The Woodlands in Texas, Pine Valley in New Jersey and Olympic Club in San Francisco. Notable on the list in 37th place was Wolf Run in Zionsville. I wonder if Brian Harris contributed to that standing!
County Tourneys
Both the men’s and women’s Howard County Golf Tournaments are being contested this weekend. Good luck to all the players.
Congrats in order
A special congratulations goes to Ben-Marvin Egel for capturing the 84th annual Boys State Junior Championship recently. I tried to find a listing of the past champions of this event to see if he is the first from Kokomo to capture the crown. Unfortunately, that question remains unanswered for now.
Another special congratulations goes to Tim Miller for being named to the 2009 class of the Howard County Hall of Fame. Miller joins friends Jerry Jackson and Cary Hungate in the prestigious group.
Club Championships
One club championship is already complete with three more to go. Please take the opportunity to play in your club championship to make it a more rewarding event for all. Look to a future article for the complete list of winners as has been the custom.
Until next time, have more fun playing more golf!
• Jon Kelley is the Tribune’s golf columnist. He may be reached by e-mail at jon_kelley@comcast.net.
