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Tiger's Absence Is A Pain For Golf

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The Associated Press

Published: June 20, 2008

Tiger Woods was must-see TV at the U.S. Open, making birdie on the final hole to force a playoff, another clutch birdie the next day to extend the playoff and winning his 14th major on what amounted to one good leg.

Halfway across the country, ticket sales were brisk in St. Louis those two days.

Woods is the defending champion in the BMW Championship, a PGA Tour playoff event in September that will be held at Bellerive. Fans in St. Louis haven't seen him in person since a practice round for a World Golf Championship on Sept. 11, 2001. The tournament was canceled the next day.

"Everything was going great - until yesterday," tournament director Jon Kaczkowski said Thursday. "If you're a golf fan in St. Louis, you've got to feel snakebit."

That goes for everyone else in a golf industry that will have to do without its biggest star the rest of the year. Woods said Wednesday he would miss the remainder of the season to have reconstructive surgery on his left knee.

Television networks no longer can count on higher ratings driven by the world's No. 1 player. Woods had planned to compete nine more times this year, and organizers must try to put a positive spin on any tournament that no longer has him as a headliner. His departure even affects bookmakers, who are making refunds on wagers that Woods will win two majors this year.

Maybe the biggest reminder that Woods is done for the year is that British-based William Hill lists Ernie Els and Sergio Garcia as the betting favorites for the British Open at 12-to-1.

A week ago, Woods was listed at 5-to-2.

"When he plays, everyone in golf benefits," Kaczkowski said.

"We've had a few callers to our office that have asked for a refund, which is to be expected," Kaczkowski said. "I'm surprised we haven't had more. They're deflated a little bit. They understand we have a great field and a great tournament. But they thought they would have a chance to see the greatest player maybe ever in their town."

TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP: Johnson Wagner shot a 6-under 64 at TPC River Highlands to match Steve Lowery, Brad Adamonis and Englishman Brian Davis for the first-round lead at Cromwell, Conn.

Seven players were a shot back at 65, and another 16 shot 66s. Of the 156 players, 104 shot under par.

WEGMANS LPGA: Japan's Ai Miyazato, celebrating her 23rd birthday, shot a 4-under 68 to join Cristie Kerr and five South Korean players atop the crowded leaderboard at Rochester, N.Y.

Jeong Jang, Inbee Park, Song-Hee Kim, Jimin Jeong and Soo-Yun Kang, who holed a 9-wood shot for an ace on the 165-yard seventh hole, also shot 68s. Morgan Pressel, Becky Lucidi, Sweden's Helen Alfredsson and South Korea's Hee-Won Han, Na On Min, Kyeong Bae and Young-A Yang opened with 69s.
Defending champion Lorena Ochoa, the No. 1 player in women's golf, carded an even-par 72 in cool, blustery conditions at the tight, tree-lined Locust Hill course, one better than Annika Sorenstam.

Michelle Wie, who received a sponsor exemption, shot a 71.

BMW INTERNATIONAL OPEN: Australia's Peter O'Malley shot a bogey-free 6-under 66 for a share of the lead in the PGA European tournament at Munich, Germany, while John Daly struggled to an even-par 72 in a round that included five wild holes on the back nine.

O'Malley shared the top spot with South Africa's Anton Haig, Singapore's Mardan Mamat and Argentina's Rafa Echenique. Daly, the 2001 winner, had two double bogeys, a bogey and two birdies on Nos. 13-17.

WOMEN'S PUBLINX: Tiffany Joh, the UCLA star who won the 2006 tournament, won two matches to advance to the quarterfinals in the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship.

Joh opened with a 3-and-2 victory over Bruins teammate Sydnee Michaels in the second round and then held off 14-year-old Jaye Marie Green of Boca Raton, 2 and 1 in the third round at Erin, Wis.

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