Between the good, the bad, and the ugly, during 2014 golf season Tiger Woods still ranked as one of the most popular and most recognizable golfers in the world. Some call him “polarizing” but there is no doubt that he is a very prominent figure in golf. With NO wins this year, he still makes the news as Golf Channel selects him as their Newsmaker Number 3.
FACT THIS: On a sunny August 6 afternoon, at the Valhallia Golf Club parking lot, just one day before the start of the PGA Championship Woods’ parking space was pounced upon by a couple of dozen media reporters and crew is full gear. All were hoping to get their lenses squarely bent on the game’s legendary player. Sure, we all know that the media is fixated on Woods. But, the strong reasoning is that they are simply giving the people (their audiences) what they want. Each year, each season is the same: No Tiger. No Viewers….Rather, viewership is drastically down when Woods is not among the field of players.
And, what about Woods unsuccessfully adding to his total number of championship. He failed to win any championships this year, failed to claim even a top 10 and dropped way down to number 29 on the list, then missed three months undergoing surgery. Following the PGA, he took himself out of Ryder Cup consideration and he’s at the bottom of the money list. You’d expect he’d be done for, right? Yet, this was not the case. He still came out on top as a major headliner to fans and colleagues alike. One quote out there says, “he doesn’t move the needle. He is the needle.”
Go on with your bad self, Tiger! No wonder your performance resulted in you becoming Golf Channel’s No. 3 Top Newsmaker of 2014.
