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Friday, March 12, 2010
1. The Associated Press is reporting that Tiger Woods will make his return to golf at the 2010 Masters, which begins 4 weeks from today. The AP report quotes 2 sources that Woods is likely to return at the Masters, and intends to remain out until at least the Masters. Meanwhile, the New York Post has reported that Woods will return at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which begins March 25.
2. Woods has won 14 major championships in his career. Only Jack Nicklaus has won more (18). Woods last won the Masters in 2006, and since then has finished T-3rd, T-2nd, 2nd, and T-6th. Woods is one of 3 men to have ever won the Masters 4 or more times. The other 2 are Jack Nicklaus (6), and Arnold Palmer (4). Nicklaus won his final Masters in 1986, Palmer in 1964.
3. Woods has finished either 1st or 2nd in a major 20 times in his career. In 2009, Woods went without a major victory in a calendar year for just the 4th time since winning the 1997 Masters. In his last 18 major starts, Tiger has finished in the top-6 15 times. Woods has never missed the Masters since his first appearance, which he made as an amateur in 1995.
4. Woods has won the Arnold Palmer Invitational 6 times – the 2nd-highest total for his career of any event (WGC-Bridgestone, 7). Woods is the 2-time defending champion of the event; he made birdies on the 72nd hole each of the last 2 years to seal the victory.
5. Another possible first time Woods could be seen - televised and on a golf course - could be the Tavistock Cup, held March 22nd and 23rd. The Tavistock Cup is a 2-day competition between the professional golfers who live within two master-planned golf communities in Orlando. Woods is on Team Isleworth, along with teammates that include Mark O’Meara, Paula Creamer, Stuart Appleby and J.B. Holmes, among others.
T
iger Woods, First PGA TOUR event of Year Since 2005
Event Date of
First round
’10 ?? ??
’09 WGC-Accenture Match Play Feb. 25<<
’08 Buick Invitational Jan. 24
’07 Buick Invitational Jan. 25
’06 Buick Invitational Jan. 26
’05 Mercedes Championships Jan. 6
>>Returned from knee injury
When Tiger made his much-anticipated return to the match play last year, he was bounced in the 2nd round by Tim Clark. Before that though, he kicked off his season with wins at the Buick Invitational from 2006-2008.
Tiger Woods
First Event of Year Since 2005
Finish
'09 WGC-Accenture Match Play T-17th<<
'08 Buick Invitational Win
'07 Buick Invitational Win
'06 Buick Invitational Win
'05 Mercedes Championships T-3rd
>>Eliminated in 2nd round by Tim Clark
PGA TOUR FINANCIAL IMPACT
Tiger Woods is inarguably the most important athlete in their individual sport. The economic impact Tiger has made on the golf world is unbelievable – ask the 91 players who made $1 million dollars on the PGA TOUR in 2009.
Tiger Woods turned professional in 1996. That year, the cumulative amount of all PGA TOUR purses was just under $66 million dollars. By 1999, that number had more than doubled, and it passed $200 million for the first time in 2003. In 2009, the combined total has more than quadrupled that amount: it was over $277 million dollars.
Cumulative Amount of Purses on PGA TOUR (In Millions)
Since 1990
Events Total
2009 47 $277.3
2008 48 $279.4
2007 47 $270.3
2006 48 $256.8
2005 48 $249.6
2004 48 $239.5
2003 48 $224.2
2002 49 $198.9
2001 49 $175.9
2000 49 $163.5
1999 47 $134.9
1998 45 $96.4
1997 45 $80.5
1996 45 $65.9
1995 44 $62.9
1994 43 $56.4
1993 43 $53.2
1992 44 $49.3
1991 44 $47.1
1990 44 $46.2
The number of players who made $1 million dollars in a single season had gone up EVERY YEAR since 1996, the year Woods turned professional, before 2009. In 1995, 9 players made $1 million (same in ’96). In 2008, 104 different players made over $1 million dollars on the PGA TOUR.
Number of Players to Earn $1 Million
In Single PGA TOUR Season
2008 104
2004 77
2000 45
1996 9
1992 4
>>2009: 91 players made $1M
Going further – the number of players to win $2 million in a season has gone up almost every year since Woods first full season on TOUR in 1997. That year, Tiger became the first player to earn $2M in a single year.
Number of Players to Earn $2 Million
In Single PGA TOUR Season
2009 38
2008 37
2007 34
2006 31
2005 30
2004 28
2003 29
2002 23
2001 16
2000 15
1999 9
1998 3
1997 1<<
>>Woods ($2.066M): first to ever earn $2M in a season
Tiger Woods has been the leading money winner on the PGA TOUR a record 9 times, including in 2009. When Woods turned professional in 1996, Tom Lehman was the leading money-winner on TOUR with about $1.8M in earnings. Last year, Bo Van Pelt made $1.945M, coming in 40th place in earnings. The leading money winner has earned more than 10 million 4 of the last 6 seasons.
Leading Money Winner on PGA TOUR (Millions)
Since 1990
’09 Tiger Woods $10.508
’08 Vijay Singh $6.601
’07 Tiger Woods $10.867
’06 Tiger Woods $9.941
’05 Tiger Woods $10.628
’04 Vijay Singh $10.905
’03 Vijay Singh $7.573
’02 Tiger Woods $6.912
’01 Tiger Woods $5.687
’00 Tiger Woods $9.188
’99 Tiger Woods $6.616
’98 David Duval $2.591
’97 Tiger Woods $2.066
’96 Tom Lehman $1.780
’95 Greg Norman $1.654
’94 Nick Price $1.499
’93 Nick Price $1.478
’92 Fred Couples $1.344
’91 Corey Pavin $0.979
’90 Greg Norman $1.165
It’s not just the leading money-winner that benefits from the growth of PGA TOUR purses – the money levels of the 30th place finisher and the man who finished 125th has greatly increased, as well. Think of this: Woods became the first player to earn $2 million back in 1997… the 30th place finisher on the PGA TOUR has earned at least $2 million in each of the last 5 seasons.
Money Earned by 30th and 125th Place Finisher
On PGA TOUR, Since Tiger Woods Turned Professional
30th 125th
2009 $2.232M $662K
2008 $2.208M $852K
2007 $2.184M $785K
2006 $2.256M $660K
2005 $2.050M $626K
2004 $1.952M $623K
2003 $1.999M $487K
2002 $1.882M $515K
2001 $1.676M $406K
2000 $1.550M $391K
1999 $1.258M $326K
1998 $964K $228K
1997 $752K $179K
1996 $604K $167K
TELEVISION RATINGS
Even on golf's biggest stages, the people are much more intrigued when Tiger Woods is in contention. Look at the television viewers from the Majors the last 2 years....the 2008 and 2009 Masters, in which Woods was in contention for on the final Sunday, had more than twice as many viewers as last year's Open Championship - where Tiger missed the cut - and 3 times as many as the 2008 PGA, that Woods missed due to injury.
Highest Television Viewership of Majors
Final Round or Playoff, Last 2 Years
Viewers (millions) Woods?
’08 Masters 9.71 Yes
’09 Masters 9.54 Yes
’09 PGA Champ. 7.60 Yes
’08 U.S. Open<< 7.56 Yes
’08 Open Champ. 5.06 No
’09 Open Champ. 4.30 No
’09 U.S. Open<< 4.00 Yes
’08 PGA Champ. 3.13 No
Viewership of PGA TOUR Events Missed by T. Woods
Due To Injury in ’08, Notable Final Rounds
2007 2008 Pct change
BMW Golf Championship 4.4M<< 1.7M -61.5
PGA Championship 9.2M<< 3.9M -57.6
Buick Invitational 6.2M<< 2.9M -53.7
Deutsche Bank Champ. 4.9M 2.1M -51.7
TOUR Championship 4.2M<< 2.2M -48.4
- Since January 2007, there have been 21 instances where a golf telecast has drawn a rating of 4.00 or better. Woods was involved in every one of those broadcasts.
- Last year, Tiger Woods made his return to competitive golf following knee surgery at the WGC-Accenture Match Play. He was defeated in the 2nd round by Tim Clark. The television ratings for Wednesday and Thursday (when the first 2 rounds were played) were down 79% on Wednesday and 81% on Thursday this year from 1 year ago. Both years, the event was shown on the Golf Channel.
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