Absence of Woods will be sorely felt

By Mark Lamport-Stokes - Analysis

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The absence of Tiger Woods for the rest of the 2008 season will be a little like trying to stage the fairytale ball without Cinderella, or the Oscars without the prized statuettes.

In many ways, Tiger Woods is golf and he has almost single-handedly ushered in an era of multi-million dollar endorsements and lucrative appearance money since turning professional in 1996.

His Afro-American-Asian background has spread the sport to an audience far beyond its traditional image of male, white and middle-class and he has become the world's best known and most marketable athlete.

Imagine boxing having to cope with the absence of heavyweight champion Muhammed Ali while in his prime, or professional basketball being deprived of Michael Jordan in his pomp?

This is the task facing tournament organizers and sponsors over the next six months and beyond, following Woods's announcement on Wednesday that he will miss the rest of the year to have reconstructive surgery on his left knee.

Next month's British Open, where Woods is a three-times champion, will proceed at Royal Birkdale without him, as will the August 7-10 PGA Championship where he has triumphed on four occasions.

The game's leading player will also be absent from the September 19-21 Ryder Cup in Louisville, Kentucky where the U.S. will be bidding to end a run of three successive defeats by Europe.

Above all, though, the fans will miss Woods for the rest of the year and this will be translated into plunging television ratings at golf tournaments where he normally plays.

GOLFING THEATRE

His uncanny ability to produce moments of magic almost on demand when they matter most, followed by his trademark fist pump, provides golfing theatre beyond the reach of his rivals.

Compatriot Kenny Perry, a 10-times PGA Tour winner who played with Woods on the U.S. Ryder Cup team in 2004, accepts that Woods's absence will be sorely felt.

"It's going to be tough for the sponsors and the Tour," Perry told reporters on Wednesday while preparing for this week's Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut.

"Tiger is our tour and when you lose your star player, it definitely hurts. There's no question about it."

"It's going to be funny playing the majors now and the world events, where he's won so many times, and not seeing him around. The Tour will definitely come down a notch a little. It won't have near the excitement that it normally has."

Ever since he appeared on television's Mike Douglas Show at the age of two displaying his raw putting skills alongside Bob Hope, Woods has been expected to produce the remarkable.