PGA waits for fallout

Stewart Cink was at a birthday party when he learned about Tiger Woods taking an indefinite leave from golf. A friend had the news on his cell phone, and even as the page loaded with the announcement, Cink figured a punch line was coming.

Then he noticed a text message on his own phone, along with four or five voice mails from the media.

“That’s when I knew this was serious, and not just another joke,” Cink said Saturday. “I didn’t really have a reaction. I really wasn’t surprised. It’s probably the right thing for him to do.”

How serious is it for golf without its biggest star?

The ramifications for Woods and his sport began to unfold Saturday. One of his sponsors, Gillette, said it won’t feature the world’s richest athlete in its marketing campaign while Woods takes time off to repair his personal life.

He has been married to Elin Nordegren for five years, and they have a 2-year-old daughter and a 10-month-old son.

“This is supporting his desire to step out of the public eye and we’re going to support him by helping him to take a lower profile,” Gillette spokesman Damon Jones said.

Such a move will be far more difficult for the PGA Tour. Woods has been the face of golf for more than a decade, and the sport had no trouble pitching its squeaky-clean image behind a star who had avoided even a hint of scandal. Woods’ world has imploded over the last two weeks, with lurid tales from alleged mistresses and Woods admitting to the “disappointment and hurt” his infidelity caused so many, starting with his family.

“It’s probably damaged the game to a degree,” Greg Norman, golf’s biggest draw in the generation before Woods, said at his Shark Shootout in Naples, Fla. “I get texts from family members whose kids idolize Tiger, and they don’t want to tell them because they don’t want to pollute their minds with what’s happened.”

While many questions remain about exactly what did happen – over the course of Woods’ marriage and the Nov. 27 car crash just outside his home – his decision Friday to take an “indefinite break” from golf has fans and his colleagues buzzing about when or if he’ll return.

“It’s a scary vision. It’s a very scary vision,” Ryder Cup player Graeme McDowell said. “We’re under no illusions. We’re much more prosperous golfers for having Tiger Woods playing in our era.”

No one knows how long Woods will be gone. Everyone does know Woods’ absence will be costly.

A year ago, he missed eight months, including two majors and a Ryder Cup, while recovering from reconstructive surgery on his left knee.

“Just the absence itself, we’ve been through that,” Cink said. “I don’t think it’s any rocket science in saying him not being involved in golf for a while is going to hurt ratings. He’s exciting. And him not being there makes it less exciting.”

The PGA Tour already has 33 tournaments scheduled for network television in 2010, with 10 more on the Golf Channel. When Woods was out with his knee injury, ratings typically plunged 50 percent.

The ratings Woods attracted is what helped the tour negotiate blockbuster deals with the networks that allowed prize money to quadruple since he arrived. Most believe ratings won’t suffer from Woods’ image being tarnished, and might even improve whenever he does return because of all the publicity.