Tuesday, August 28, 2001
All Tiger, all the time
By BUCK HARVEY
c.2001 San Antonio Express-News
SAN ANTONIO — Someday he will have his own cable channel.
KTIG.
All Tiger Woods, all the time, with occasional breaks to sell
products endorsed by Tiger Woods.
Naturally, that would spawn other channels (Tiger Classic, Tiger
Kids and Tiger Family), as well as a spinoff for Mickelson and
the guys (Tiger Comedy).
And if that's the future, then August of 2001 caused it. That's
when the ratings became too obvious for TV execs to ignore.
That's when the PGA Championship lost a third of its viewers because
Tiger wasn't in contention. And that's when a relatively minor
tournament called the NEC spiked ratings even in a tape delay.
KTIG?
Click your remote to see if it's already available.
Just the idea bothers people, especially people who play golf
for a living.
“If you pick up a newspaper today, it's going to say the
golf ratings are down because Tiger wasn't in contention,”
Hale Irwin was quoted as saying the other day. “I just think
that's placing too much emphasis on Tiger as a huge importance
in the game. Even Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer weren't that
big, and I don't see Tiger being bigger than either one of those.”
Irwin doesn't see Tiger being bigger? Irwin also thinks steel
shafts are a passing fad.
If the past five years didn't impress Irwin, then Sunday should
have tweaked his thinking. Tiger won the 29th tournament of his
career, tying Nicklaus for the most Tour victories before turning
30.
Tiger has until 2006 to win one more tournament — and break
the record.
There are other golf stats, from the Tiger Slam, to his records
in three of the four majors, to even the NEC Invitational. He's
won it three years running now, making him the first player to
take three straight tournaments at Firestone. Coincidentally,
that's a course Nicklaus once dominated.
But this is about more than golf. It's about camera control and
Jordan-like charisma. Palmer had more of that than Nicklaus, and
Tiger has more than both combined.
The PGA told of that. Phil Mickelson battled David Toms to the
last hole, and a chunk of the TV pie still yawned and flipped
channels to see if Ron Popeil had something new to sell.
The ratings fell to what golf ratings should be. And maybe that
redefines this sport. A major is now any tournament in which Tiger
sits on the leaderboard.
The NEC met those standards, and with a bonus. Because of the
threat of bad weather Sunday, the tournament started earlier,
then CBS replayed the tape in its usual time slot.
No one knows the TV numbers yet, but here's a guess: The delayed
NEC compares favorably to the devalued PGA.
If anything, the tape delay was perfect for KTIG. They could edit
the tournament down to its essence. Tiger shot, Tiger grimace,
commercial, Tiger ponder, Tiger shot, glimpse of Jim Furyk, Tiger
reaction.
It wasn't the best golf. On 18, Tiger followed Furyk into a bunker,
and then neither one could find the putting surface. Compared
to the way Mickelson and Toms played their 18th, Tiger and Furyk
were weekend hacks.
But they also hit spectacular shots. Furyk needed two to get out
of a bunker on the first playoff hole, but holed the second with
a Tiger-like fist pump. Tiger made his own escape on the next
playoff hole, curving a 15-foot par putt while Furyk missed a
birdie.
“Now I understand,” Woods said later, “why most
of the golfers are gray and balding.”
Sudden death made for TV life, and Furyk kept losing birdie putts
and more hair. Tiger kept hanging. It wasn't a major, but wasn't
it major entertainment? And when it was over, Tiger ended his
summer slump by guaranteeing he will be the player of the year.
Some slump.
But isn't that the usual programming? Here every broadcast seemingly
concludes with a seven-hole playoff. A wedge within 2 feet. And
a million-dollar payday.
On KTIG.
(Buck Harvey's e-mail address is bharvey(at)express-news.net)
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