All of the #1 seeds (Woods, Singh, Garcia, and Harrington) are gone.

This is why the networks hate match play, because besides no Tiger for the weekend, no top players means much lower ratings.

NBC is already proposing that next year, Tiger gets one mulligan off of any tee during the tournament.

NBC has also announced that they will only run Nike ads this weekend, so you will actually see more of Tiger than you would if he were still playing.

But seriously.......what do you guys see as the next most interesting / compelling story for the weekend for true golf fans? I'm talking about all of us, because the casual fan will now be tuned out??

Is it Mickelson in the finals? What about McElroy in the final pairing?

Just curious for opinions on what might save this tournament coverage.

McIlroy is still on the move. Can he win in his first professional outing in America? Poulter continues his good matchplay form. The Ogilvy/Villegas match looks to be a cracker. Aside from Augusta this is the best event of the year for people who love golf. Don't really give a tinkers cuss that Tiger aint there.

Rather than less, there should be more matchplay.

Well actually I believe I saw somewhere (I believe TGC) that NBC will still air Tiger's first two matches.

I hope this isn't true and I misheard because I will be PISSED off if they don't show the actually play on Saturday/Sunday and show Tiger in round 1 or 2

While you and I might feel this way, along with others on this site, the majority of weekend golf viewers will not tune in now that Tiger is out.

And NBC better not be planning on showing Tiger rather than the actual matches as another poster alluded to.

the only thing that could save the match play would be Tim Clark somehow getting disqualified or sick and tiger was to move on to the third round.....nbc, the golf channel, accenture, the pga tour, the city of tucson, etc, etc must be really, really unhappy about the tiger loss...

still have Phil, EE and CV.. those are draws still left.

Unless you are an NBC executive or a Tiger fanatic I don't think the Match Play needs saving. It's match play good players are going to be eliminated. I happen to like the match play tournament and wish they had more of it, but I don't run a TV station that only thrives when golf's golden child is present.

About the only way to save this tourney's ratings would be to have Tiger play a consolation match every day. Face it, he's not there, most of the world tunes out (check the golf ratings, sad but true). I will watch, but I am definately not going to lie and say that I am as excited about the weekend coverage now that Tiger is not playing.

They could keep all the players using long putters out of Tigers bracket.....of his losses 3 have been by players using sweepers.

Camillo Villegas looks like he has the strongest game going into the weekend. But it is match play a lot can happen!!!

Maybe with Woods gone, TGC won't show Kelly Tilghman anymore this week. Jeez, give it a rest, will ya?

Peter Hanson are Oliver Wilson are still in it.

I have never been looking forward to a match more than Camilo and Geoff tomorrow. And I'm a Tiger fan.

maybe they could cancel the golf coverage and have some sort of reality show watching tiger lounge by his pool for the rest of the weekend

Don't care about the ratings, don't care about the ad revenue, don't care about the "Tiger-only-or-nothing" fan.

For real golf fans, the interesting/compelling story is who becomes this year's champ. The truth is usually simple like that.

Um, while it isn't really being reported on by the press (sort of natural with Tiger's return I suppose) ... Camillo is sort of dominating this week ... like a cut above anyone else ... he's not just winning, he's embaressing people. Its almost a, um, Tiger-like performance ... He's won 7 & 6, 5 & 4 ... They haven't showed many of his shots, but they have shown a couple ... and the dude looks positively dialied in. Tomorrow he plays Ogilvy, both of who's wins required a playoff hole.

Watching Camillo at the end of last year - well, I thought maybe he the young gun that really was going to step up to the plate in Tiger's absence ... but also thought maybe it was just a fluke (hard to tell, with young players, whether they are truly coming into their own, or are just on a brief hot streak).

Forget the weird, "hip" clothes, and the long hair and "look at me I'm so cute" smile. The guy has one of the most serious work ethics in the game, and he is now playing incredible golf.

could they show more golf and take away the announcers mics??

brian hammons needs to stick to the LPGA coverage. leave it to faldo.

The Network could save itself by spreading some of the love
and giving some very interesting Players exposure and let the
casual fans get to know them. For the casual fan they only know TW because
thats all they have seen. TW is all he's hyped up to be and more
and richly deserves all the love, but the Producers need to spread the
coverage around and let some others get to be known.
My Semi's predictions and based on my CDCSports Bracket success,
feel free to go ahead and laugh and I'll laugh with you.
Ogilvy vs Poulter
Mickelson vs Furyk

CBSsports.com has a poll and right now 10,080 people have voted. 71% voted that they would not watch the match play now that Tiger is gone. Sounds like it needs saving to me.

I WILL be watching now that TW is out of it. At least now, we'll get to see some other decent golfers get some TV time. When he's in the field, the tv directors forget about everyone else.

amen brother!

I am a gigantic TW fan, but I tend to agree with most of the posters above. Almost every match is compelling to me. I wish I could have seen more of them than just Tiger's, though I do understand it.

I like T-dub as much as anyone, but as a golf enthusiast and a true fan of the game I will be glued to the TV for the 3rd round just as I was for the first two. Tiger's out...big woo...It's match play, that stuff happens. And I agree, the whole comeback thing has been blown way out of proportion...this tournament still has some compelling matchups....

I understand that approximately 7,000 out of 10,000 people polled on CBS sportsline say they won't be watching because Tiger's out, but what's it matter? If you're on GolfWRX at this time of night I bet you'll be tuned in...or atleast Tivo it!!!

Glad Tiger is gone. On the first two days, saw every shot he hit three times with 5 minutes of walking up the fairway afterwards and a slo-mo breakdown of his technique for scratching his a**. In contrast hardly saw some of the other players at all.

When the TV networks hype the event up so much, they only have themselves to blame when it all goes sour. The people who will not tune in now are not golf fans.

Personally I think Tiger's exit is what saved the tournament. The first two days, all they really showed were Tigers matches. I was hoping to see more of McIlroy, but so far I've only seen him strike two putts and an approach shot. Don't get me wrong, I like watching the guy, but he's not the only story at the tournament.

interesting thread......did you mean to say...who's gonna save the television networks?

My question is who's gonna save golf from the TV networks and the ever increasing ratings and dollar driven coverages -- perhaps the answer is to let the European coverage be an option........then the golf fans can watch golf - and the people watchers can watch there favourites....

McIlroy vrs Villegas would be great to see...as well as todays Villegas vrs Ogilvy!

Not quite right, they are going to show last year's US Open playoff.

Match play is too unpredictable. It's so easy at the level those guys play at for one guy to get hot and the other guy to play mediocre. Tim Clark had 6 birds and 0 bogeys and they didn't play all 18. That is awfully tought to beat even for Tiger Woods. Unless they want to give the #1's automatic buys into the weekend, it's a crapshoot. Even Tiger's has lost in round 1 before and it seems Sergio more often than not loses in the first round. Man I was hoping to see a Rory McElroy Tiger showdown. Rory did his part but TC was just too tough on Thurs.

Thank god tiger is gone now, we might get to see more of Mcilroy's shots instead of watching tiger walk down the fairway. Still plenty of great golf left. Hopefully a potential Mcilroy vs Villegas.

I'm not too surprised by that stat. I don't really feel sorry for the networks because they are partly responsible for this "Tiger is the only guy on tour worth watching" attitude. So when he's out it's their loss, not mine I like to see golf period.

Next best story for me would be Phil stepping up and hoisting the Trophy. Phil heating up w/ Tiger back should make for some great stories, especially since Tiger says he's feeling great.

The networks must love me, I watch the weekend golf regardless of who's playing

I don't have cable so no TGC during the week, so I have to make up for it with HD network golf on Sat and Sun

Amen...I'm not a Tiger hater but do we really need to waste 5 minutes of coverage watching him storm back to the tee box with driver in hand after he hits it oob. Tim Clark was cool as a cucumber and he applied a lot of pressure on Tiger and Tiger couldn't answer. Match play is great and I agree with Pickerjohn who recommended the networks start focusing more on other players. The casual fans only know Tiger because when he's playing nobody else gets any air time.

The actual answer to this is nothing. Ratings will be WAY down because Tiger is out.

TM_golf_guy said what 71% of people in a poll won't watch because Tiger is out, that is ridiculous.

It's all good and fine the probably 5% of us don't care who is playing and want to see more of Rory, Camillo, etc. and less Tiger but the fact is whether he is +22 or -22 CBS, NBC, ABC, ESPN and TGC are going to pump you full of Tiger's entire round because that's what people want to see.

It's never going to change until TW decideds to hang it up, we've dealt with it for almost 10 years I think we can live with it by now because we all know nothing is changing.

The best thing the network can hope for is a Mickelson vs Villegas in the semi and in the bottom bracket there is no one note worthy except Poulter who can get viewers just because of his clothing.

Needless to say if Mickelson or Camillo don't make the finals the ratings will be probably the lowest they have ever been for the WGC match play.


If you have a business and something is flying off your shelves your not going to suddenly put that in the middle and try to show new product. Your going to put that product out there so everyone can see it and put it in your window so people will see it and come in.

It would probably be the worst network decision in sports history to start showing less of Tiger, unless we all want golf to return to its pre Tiger days...where no one cares about it except a select few.

I agree that any good match is compelling to watch and enjoy. I'll watch this weekend because we just received another 8 inch dumping of snow! I could care less who is playing the final match. Hopefully it will be super competitive and come down to a birdie putt on the last hole. Like it or not Tiger drives TV ratings, and without ratings tournaments are in danger of losing sponsorships. I love watching match play as an avid golfer, but the majority of weekend warriors live to see Tiger. I am sure most of us on this site would prefer more match play events. Let's just hope we don't lose the one we have.

[quote][CBSsports.com has a poll and right now 10,080 people have voted. 71% voted that they would not watch the match play now that Tiger is gone. Sounds like it needs saving to me.
/quote]

Maybe these are the same people who rather watch Dancing with the Stars and American Idol??????

God help us, we're in the hands of maniacs.

It may be but unfortunately the Dancing with the Stars, AI, etc. is the audience that golf needs.

They need a new audience so the only way to get it is showcase your best asset as much as you can, especially when your best asset is miles ahead of the 2nd option.

People need to understand that and when they can't we get all this "show less Tiger show more Rory" nonsense.

I have 18 holes planned on both days no matter who is playing.

DVR it and FF to the end.

I'll never get the lack of apparent lack of interest in match play-it is, without a doubt, one of the most interesting and exciting formats for a golf tournament. I'm not pro or anti Tiger, I enjoy watching him play along with many others. I particularly enjoyed watching Freddy play last weekend as I went to high school with him-wished he had'nt blown that approach shot on 18.

But you now have better techinque on a** scratching. Well only if you are as strong as Tiger according to talking heads.

I guess I'll be stuck watching the rest of the field, i.e. the top 64 players in the world. Dang, I thought I was forced to watch some hack shoot 104 and shank balls all over the course.

But seriously, as I stated in the "Tiger hater" thread, I could watch ANY of the players on any of the major professional tours and enjoy it. I love the game and appreciate what each player does to get the ball in the hole. Tim Clark and Tiger are polar opposites in how they play, yet both are fun to watch IMO. Same with DLIII and Justin Leonard.

I'm watching either way...if I'm not on the course!!

Kevin

Actually I think he needs to work on his technique - like his driving I think he flares out to the right a bit too often.

That would be me, too. Golf needs a wider audience, and unfortunately, some of the Dancing With The Stars and American Idol audience knows who Tiger is to the exclusion of everyone else. Hopefully, they don't know Tiger was bounced and they'll tune in just in time to see Camilo do a Spiderman green read and fantasize about him for a while.

Taking my tongue out of my cheek for a moment, they might try making this a double elimination tournament, if they fear the loss of top players that much. World Cup does Round-Robin in the early rounds to prevent the top teams from going home after the first round upset.

Camilo is playing stunningly well, BTW. Glad to see it!

I love how everyone has to make it a point that they're "true golf fans" with or without Tiger in the field. NO KIDDING!!! We're discussing this in a freaking golf discussion board! I think we're all pretty big fans of the game.

So my question is, am i NOT a "true golf fan" because I would like to see Tiger still playing? I'm sorry, but i like to watch the guy play golf. We only get to see it about 15 times a year (sometimes less), so yes, I would love for him to still be playing!

The fact is, the ratings will dramatically suffer because he is not in the field...I will watch, but millions of other people will not because he's not there. It's just a fact.

I THINK I MAYBE ON A ISLAND BY MYSELF BUT I WATCH GOLF FOR THE LUV OF IT NO MATTER WHO'S PLAYING I DON'T LET THE MEDIA DICTATES WHO I SHOULD BE WATCHING OR NOT WATCHING
WHY CAN'T WE LET THE SPORT BE THE STAR. INSTEAD OF CRYING ABOUT HOW TIGER'S NOT IN IT
FOR ME IT BECOMES MORE INTERESTING BECAUSE ANYONE CAN WIN IT

I agree fully with this post, we get a chance to watch maybe the greatest individual athlete in history play a sport we all love. I would love to see Tiger every chance I get.

Just like every chance I get I'm watching Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Don't you ever love hearing your grandfather or father say "I remember watching ___________" That is something special we will be able to say when Tiger is no longer playing. We got to see the best play at his best.

That isn't something you can say very often.

And don't give me every generation thinks they best player is in theirs because there has still never been a Babe Ruth, still no second Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr, Maurice Richard, etc. no one as dominate as Michael Jordan or Wilt Chamberlin, no RB like Barry Sanders or Walter Payton, never a second Jerry Rice, etc. etc.

I would WANT to see Tiger every opportunity I could to say "Ya I saw Tiger make that putt on 18 on one leg at Torrey" "or ya that chip in on 16 @ Augusta I was ___________ when it happened"

Not too many people are gonna be saying "Ya I remember I was ________ when Zach Johnson won the Master's" "or remember when Todd Hamilton won the British Open?"

With no offense to those guys at all lol.