Tuesday, November 14
By Bob Harig
Special to ESPN Golf Online
For Tiger Woods to vent in the media, you know he must be frustrated. Really frustrated.
For a long time now, Woods has said all the right things, done all the right things. He's carefully cultivated his image, stayed away from controversy. In many instances, he has perfected the art of using many words to say nothing.
|  | | Tiger Woods' season included nine victories, but he failed to charge on Sunday each of the last three weeks. |
But there was no mincing of words in his interview at the Tour Championship with GolfWorld magazine. That Woods would take the time to discuss his displeasure with PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem and other matters just a short while after shooting 66 in the third round says something about his feelings on the subject. And he didn't back down last week at the American Express Championship in Spain.
To summarize: Woods believes the Tour is taking advantage of him; he said Finchem only talks to him when trying to twist his arm to play in a certain tournament; he is concerned about how the Tour uses his image for marketing and promotion, and the conflicts this produces with many of his sponsors. Woods even suggested that, in a perfect world, he should receive a cut of the extra television revenue the Tour will receive because of his impact on those negotiations.
Whew. We're not talking about some little petty squabble, something easily swept under a rug at PGA Tour headquarters in Florida.
Woods makes some strong points, and his is a voice to be listened to -- for obvious reasons. He is the No. 1 attraction in the game, if not in all of sports, and everyone in golf benefits from his existence.
But he chose the wrong avenue to travel. Woods said there are things "the public just doesn't understand" -- which is exactly the point. The public doesn't understand why a person who makes more than $50 million a year would complain about anything, regardless of whether his concerns are valid.
A little over a year ago, Woods and several of his Ryder Cup teammates fought a losing public-opinion war, saying they should be compensated -- the money is to go to charity -- for playing in the competition. The fact that the PGA of America makes millions at the players' expense -- and there would be no event without the players -- was lost.
The average sports fan will have no patience for multi-millionaire athletes being asked to work for free for a week -- even if they would never consider doing the same thing.
This is a similar situation. Woods will get no sympathy from the average guy who sees that Woods just completed a two-year run that saw him win 17 PGA Tour titles, four major championships and more than $15 million in official money. How bad could it be?
It's noble that Woods wants to protect his sponsors who pay him millions. Of course, it can become tiresome to be hounded by every tournament director in the country, all of whom go to Finchem asking him to get Woods. Sure, maybe it's unfair that as an independent contractor, he is still bound to certain tour regulations that make him compete a minimum of 15 events and force him to essentially ask permission to play an overseas tournament that might pay a bundle for just showing up.
Woods could have told Finchem in private, however. Presumably, the PGA Tour commissioner is not too busy to take a phone call from the world's best player. At least he shouldn't be.
Finchem does need to listen, because Woods yields considerable clout. Television ratings and ticket sales prove that Tour events are not the same without him. With Woods in a tournament, TV viewership more than doubles. He could, conceivably, elect not to play the PGA Tour while competing in the major championships and in Europe, where he could command huge appearance fees. His schedule wouldn't change all that much, except for playing less events in the United States. That would certainly be damaging to the Tour.
But as much as the Tour needs Woods, he also needs the Tour. It is where his legacy will be determined. It is where his legend grows. Adding to his victory total of 24, chasing the records of Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, is what makes Woods the phenomenon that he is today.
It sounds as if Woods has some legitimate gripes. Lets hope they can be resolved, behind closed doors.
Trying to finish strong
Karrie Webb has an opportunity to put the finishing touches on another remarkable season. Largely overshadowed this year by Woods, Webb would be the talk of golf any other year.
She has seven victories, including two major championships, and has a chance to become the first women to earn $2 million in a season at this week's Arch LPGA Tour Championship in Daytona Beach, Fla.
The tournament is for the top 30 finishers on the LPGA money list. Webb is the first player since Beth Daniel in 1990 with the opportunity to win eight events in a season.
"Comparing Tiger and myself together, that's a great compliment in itself," Webb said. "If I keep putting numbers on the board, that attention will come."
WGC fallout
For the second year in a row, Joe Ozaki's presence in the season-ending World Golf Championship event meant another player got bumped out of the top 125 on the PGA money list.
Last year, it was Doug Dunakey, who was displaced simply because Ozaki was guaranteed $25,000 for showing up. This year, Ozaki at least had to perform, although he didn't have to do much to earn the $39,500 necessary to push him past Joey Sindelar and into the 123rd spot on the money list. Ozaki had been 128th going in, Sindelar 125th. Now Sindelar is 126th and not fully exempt for 2001.
Ozaki got into the American Express Championship because of his standing on the Japan Tour and his ranking among the top 50 in the world. Sindelar was not eligible for the tournament.
Bob Harig, who covers golf for the St. Petersburg Times, writes a column every Tuesday for ESPN Golf Online. |  |
