PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem has claimed that the tournament is going to be fine despite former world number one golfer Tiger Woods' hiatus from the sport, although he insists that the American's legacy is on solid grounds.
Finchem caimed that he doesn't know when the 14-time major winner would play next but he compared Woods' latest hiatus to Michael Jordan leaving the NBA to try his luck at professional baseball.
Finchem said that the PGA TOUR is going to be fine, adding that they are as concerned about Woods stepping away as they were in 2012. He claimed that they had it for a period of time in 2009 and 2010, insisting that it's good news and bad news, Sport24 reported.
The PGA Tour commissioner said that it's more bad news than good news because it's like Michael Jordan stepping away to play baseball that year, insisting that he's their number one player and the the player that on balance fans want to watch play more than any other.
But, Finchem claimed that when one loses their number one player, in a time when he's still in an age where he can really play if he can get back to that level; it's not going to let them perform at the same level as one would with him.
Woods announced on February 11 that he would not return to competition until his game shows improvement, after he struggled to a career-worst round of 82 and last-place finish at the Phoenix Open and a mid-round withdrawal at Torrey Pines with a bad back. oods also missed the WGC event in Doral, the first WGC he has failed to qualify for since the 2011 HSBC Champions.
Finchem further said that sooner or later, it's always going to happen, adding that he remembers how long it took for all of them, fans, media, to come to grips with Jack Nicklaus stepping away, claiming that it took years, as nobody wanted to let him go. inchem said that Woods has raised golf's profile and attracted a generation of new fans, adding that during the American's period, the Tour has grown, and has gotten a bigger fan base.
Woods is a four-time winner of the Masters, the year's first major set for April 9-12 at Augusta National. He has never won the green jacket without first winning a tournament earlier in the same season, the report added.
