Idk, probably not much different than the last few years. My statement is geared towards the popularity of the tour. Had Tiger never come along it would not be where it is today and the tour as well as the players know it
So very true. I really attribute The Golf Channel to Eldrick, I can't really name an athlete that was more influencial to his sport than him. Maybe Ali, but I find it difficult to quantify his impact on boxing. Eldrick has his advertising $s, course redesigns, attendance is way up when he played in a tourny, prize money is through the roof and he brought two new demographics to the sport, blacks and youths.
The ratings were down, but it wasn't a result of Tiger's absence imo. I would think that CBS would have preferred someone other than Sergio & Justin in the hunt on the back 9 Sunday afternoon. Losing Dustin Johnson also didn't help.