Tiger-mania at Augusta, like never before
You’d hardly expect someone ranked 973rd in the world – who hasn’t played a single competitive round for the past 507 days, and was on his crutches less than six months ago with serious doubts over his ability to walk – to come in from the cold and hijack the entire narrative of a Major championship.
Unless that person happens to be Tiger Woods, of course.
Golf has witnessed Tiger-mania before, but this week at the Masters tournament, fans and media have taken it to an unprecedented level.
It’s not as if there is any dearth of stories. There is the fascinating quest of the extremely popular Rory McIlroy to complete a rare career grand slam here. There is the meteoric rise of American Scottie Scheffler, who is showing Woods-like dominance in winning three titles on the PGA Tour in his last five starts and has changed the world order by becoming the new No 1.
From 2015 champion Jordan Spieth to the world No 1 amateur, Japan’s Keita Nakajima, every player has engaging stories to tell. It just feels like nobody is willing to listen to them right now.
All eyes and ears are focused on the 46-year-old Woods.
Probably nothing exemplifies the excitement more than the skyrocketing prices of resale tickets. The Masters is known as one of the most economical sporting events to attend. Cost of daily entry to the practice days is $75 ( ₹5,700) and competition days is $115 ( ₹8,735).
However, on reselling sites such as Stubhub and SeatGeek, they have jumped to over $15,000 ( ₹11.39 lakh) ever since Woods indicated on Tuesday that he was “most likely” to play the event. Mind you, scalping and reselling Masters tickets is against the club’s policy, and those found guilty of doing so are struck off the patrons’ list forever. By the way, the waiting list to get into the Masters ticket allocation list is more than two decades right now.
It probably will not make a difference to the tournament’s financial results this year – all tickets are sold well in advance, and hence F&B and merchandising are already accounted for keeping a full house in mind. But we need to brace for some absolutely mind-numbing TV ratings and social media figures in the coming weeks.
The fans, or patrons as the tournament likes to call them, were roaming around deliriously this week. A sea of humanity followed Woods when he played his second practice round on Monday, and people tippy-toed like seasoned ballerinas – only because of utter lack of standing space at the expansive driving range – just to catch a glimpse of their hero.
On Monday, word spread around the golf course that Woods was teeing off at 3pm local time. That itself is a miracle because mobile phones are strictly not allowed inside the premises. One could feel the life draining out of other parts of the golf course. Those who were able to, and hadn’t planted their chairs at the most strategic vantage points, made a beeline for the first tee.
From the 16th green to the first tee is a steep climb that would test the fittest of mountaineers, but that did not stop many from bounding up with the alacrity of a Sherpa.
And there is the most talked about Players Impact Programme (PIP), a year-long evaluation of which player generates the most positive impact for the PGA Tour. In 2021, the pool was $40 million, with the player with highest impact taking $8 million.
The impact is measured in terms of internet searches, earned media, their own social media reach, TV exposure and general awareness. Woods won without playing a single competitive event on the Tour last year, except for the Father-Son PNC Championship late in the off-season.
Many players have already thrown in the towel since Woods tweeted about his imminent arrival at Augusta last Saturday. England’s Lee Westwood hilariously responded: “Well…just like that @TigerWoods seals the 2022 PIP.”
There was no bitterness at all in the recently crowned world No 1 Scheffler when asked about the lack of attention on his stunning performance this year.
“Tiger is the needle for professional golf. I would say he takes a lot of attention away from all of us, which I think is a good thing for us. He’s used to being in the spotlight,” said Scheffler.
“He’s done so much. The Tour looks a lot different than it did in 1996 before he came out, so we’re all very grateful and we’re hopeful to have him back. I think he said it was maybe still a little bit of a late decision he has to make, but it seems like he’s going to play for sure. That’s so exciting for us.”
Even in the years when Woods wasn’t playing, the Masters remained a buzzing place. That’s probably because it is such a bucket-list event for sports fans, you just feel elated being a part of it. But when Woods becomes part of the field, and especially in a comeback as emotional as this, the energy just seems to have multiplied severalfold.
Don’t be surprised if many of them go down on knees in a silent prayer around the Amen Corner. Tiger has that power of turning fans into believers.
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