Tiger's World: It Gets Bigger and Bigger

Filed in archive Golf News on December 9, 2007

There is a good piece in today's guardian newspaper in Great Britain on the challenge facing the European Tour Player's Committee in the wake of the announced Dubai World Championship, the final event in the season-long 20 million dollar Race to Dubai.

And, not surprisingly, that challenge involves Tiger Woods.

Woods has now gone beyond a wealthy PGA Tour pro with a global following; he is a global commodity, representative of the new corporatization of the world's economies.

Bill Elliott, who penned the piece, reminds us that the rules for entry into the 20 million dollar Dubai World Championship demand that every player be a member of the European Tour.

Tiger is not currently a member. However, as Elliott points out, under current rules, that would be easy to remedy. Entry into the Dubai World Championship demands that a player play in 11 tournaments sanctioned by the Euro boys. They include the four majors and the three World Golf Championship events plus three others.

So Tiger needs to only agree to play three other Euro tournaments - one of which is the season-ending Dubai World Championship, itself- and he's in. He's already a regular (winner) in the others.

But, here's where it gets interesting, according to Elliott. The European Players Committee thinks 11 tournaments is too soft, given the amount of prize money at stake; they want 13 as the minimum number played to qualify for a shot at the 10 million up for grabs in the DWC, not to mention the other 10 million in the season long Race to Dubai.

Now Tiger is a busy man, so 13 might be a bit steep.

But since Tiger is already being paid 50 million U.S. to design his very first course in Dubai, Elliott wonders what the likelihood is that the European Tour or the bag-men of Dubai would permit a mere players committee from effectively blocking Woods' entry into the DWC.

Elliott sees the day when the European Tour will be just a handful of enormously wealthy tournaments scattered around the globe and played by the wealthiest players, the world top 50.

I'll say it again. Tiger Woods is no longer a very successful U.S. tour pro with a worldwide following. He is now an extremely valuable commodity to many countries, governments and corporations with the money to spend.

Woods, in many ways, has become a unique creature. Almost a financial King Kong.

And the game of golf is changing very quickly to accommodate his size.

By the way, here's one angle regarding Dubai and how it runs itself.