Woods now must up his game to keep sponsors happy

* Playing well will mitigate branding issues, experts say

* Woods chooses most media-controlled venue for his return

By Alexandria Sage

SAN FRANCISCO, March 16 (Reuters) - Tiger Woods just raised the stakes on his own game.

Woods relieved sponsors on Tuesday by saying he would return to golf at the U.S. Masters in early April. [ID:nN16256945]

But more than ever before, the world's No. 1 golfer needs a victory on the links to revive a sports brand worth an estimated $100 million before the disclosure of his marital infidelities derailed his career.

Woods has won the Masters four times. If he plays badly and leaves the tour early, sponsors will say "not only is this guy risky from a marketing perspective but he's not achieving the same level of success," said David Carter, executive director of the Sports Institute at the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business.

"Unless he wins, he's not going to return to the high level of media exposure he's accustomed to and that's something sponsors will have to take a good look at," Carter said. "A great performance will mitigate that personal branding damage."

Before the scandal led AT&T (T.N) and Accenture (ACN.N) to drop him as a spokesman, Woods was believed to be the world's wealthiest athlete.

While some sponsors, in particular athletic footwear and apparel maker Nike (NKE.N) and video game producer Electronic Arts ERTS.O, have stood by his side and voiced support as his personal scandal unfolded late last year, others have let contracts with Woods expire or dropped him from advertising.

Nike, EA and Gillette gave a nearly verbatim response to the announcement by Woods about how delighted they will be to see him on the course again. EA hinted at just how much scrutiny he will be under at the Masters, saying "all eyes will be on Augusta in a few weeks."

Woods laid the groundwork for his return to golf last month, apologizing in public for his indiscretions.

But he held off giving a return date at the time, a move that likely did not sit well with sponsors who sought an end to the uncertainty, said Robert Boland, a professor of sports management at New York University.

"The reason he's playing the Masters is to appease his current sponsors," Boland said. "This was very calculated."

"A prolonged absence would have been a breach of contract on his part and that's absolutely why he's playing," Boland added.

One factor giving cheer to sponsors is Woods' choice of venue for his comeback. The genteel atmosphere at the Masters, where media is tightly controlled, is not a place where "frenzies" will be tolerated, said Boland.

"The Masters is the most controlled media environment he could possibly walk into," Boland said. "While he will be a circus, they control that as well as they can." (Reporting by Alexandria Sage; Editing by Michele Gershberg and John O'Callaghan)