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Tiger woods’ bid for his own event has some tour players feeling left out. It appeared to be a genuine gesture on the part of Tiger Woods, but it has presented more controversy than Woods, or the PGA Tour, expected. Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer are two golfers that Woods deeply admires, and he has tried to mirror their efforts on and off the course whenever possible. It was only logical that Woods would want his own tournament. He has hosted an off-season event since 1999 and desired a regular tour event. So when the International decided not to come back this year, the opportunity was there and Woods took it. The AT&T National will be played on the Fourth of July weekend, and Woods will act as the tournament’s host, with the money going toward a new Tiger Woods Learning Center in the Washington, D.C., area. “The last year or so, we’ve been looking up and down the Eastern seaboard for a new learning center,” Woods said at a press conference announcing the event. “And then this opportunity fell into our laps. It makes sense to build it here. We just haven’t had time to find a site yet.” Woods, 31, secured his tournament well before Nicklaus and Palmer did. They were both in their mid-50s when their events — the Memorial and Bay Hill — started, but Woods has proven adept at making ventures successful. “I want to build something along that level,” Woods said. “Obviously, with my competitive nature, I want it to be better.” Since the event is in the nation’s capital and played the week of this country’s birthday, Woods devised a shrewd public relations move. All active military and children under the age of 12 will get free admission. This is great. Underprivileged inner-city kids will get a learning center, the D.C. area will get a tournament again and the military is honored. Everyone is happy, right? Wrong. Some PGA Tour players are furious that the tournament will be an invitational instead of a full-field event, like the International was. Rich Beem and Brad Faxon argue that if a full-field event goes away, another should replace it. “It’s the most totally wrong thing I’ve heard of in a long time,” Beem told The Associated Press. “That’s sticking it to the players.” Beem has taken on Woods before and won, but it was on the golf course. Beem held off a hard-charging Woods in the final round of the 2002 PGA Championship. This might not be as easy. Even though Beem is on the Player Advisory Council, Woods usually gets his way when it comes to the PGA Tour, which has been catering to Woods and other stars by making the tour more palatable for their schedules. The FedEx Cup was designed to attract top-tier players to certain events and get them to play more places for more money. The invitational Woods will host is planning on a smaller field, which would cut out guys who might not be eligible. What Beem and Faxon fail to grasp, however, is the tournaments they now play have much larger purses because of Woods. So you could double the number of events on tour with full fields, but if Woods never came on the scene, they’d be fighting for less money. Take the Nissan Open, for example. Before Woods turned professional in 1997, that year’s winner, Nick Faldo, made $252,000. A year later with Tigermania in full swing, Billy Mayfair won $558,000. Beem earned $990,000 for winning the 2002 PGA Championship, compared to $480,000 that Davis Love III won in 1997. That was largely made possible by Woods and the popularity he has brought to the game. That gives Woods some latitude. If he wants to further the concept of the Learning Center and uses an invitational tournament to do that, I say the tour grinders just have to accept it. This is not a question of fairness, but one of reality. Woods is a star and he drives the tour. Instead of griping about Woods and possibly not getting to play in one event, guys like Beem and Faxon should be thanking him for the increased purses, more sponsorship opportunities and increased television exposure. SG John Reger has been covering professional golf since 1995. He can be reached at cascribe@aol.com. Reger’s Rants: While most of Tiger Woods’ competitors seem to be slumbering, Vijay Singh is slowly making his move. The two could be in the final group at the Masters on Sunday. And if they are, it would be a phenomenal match-up. The LPGA apparently believes it is necessary to drug test its players. It will test for a host of banned substances and I would imagine the money could have been spent on promoting the tour, rather than policing it. Isn’t it time for Pelican Hill Golf Club in Newport Coast to open? It seems like this project is taking longer than two years, or maybe I just miss playing on one of my favorite courses in Southern California. |
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