Tiger Woods' impact on golf assessed ahead of his Masters return
Wednesday 4 April 2018 13:57, UK
Tiger Woods is back at Augusta this week, ready to contend for a fifth Masters title and bring even more exposure to one of the season's biggest events.
Woods has only been able to take part at Augusta in one of the last four tournaments, finishing tied for 17th in 2015, with serious back issues, and resulting surgeries, forcing him to miss the other three.
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His most recent operation appears to have finally got to the bottom of the problems that have plagued him, and the sport is already feeling the benefits.
Woods has impressed in his three most recent tournaments, which included a tie for second place at the Valspar Championship and a tie for fifth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, events which saw a significant increase in interest just because he was participating.
Sky Sports News spoke with Jon Long of sports marketing agency Nielsen Sports to find out just what impact the former world No 1 makes, and what the sport has been missing for much of the last four years.
He said: "Tiger is the biggest brand in golf and the cameras love him. What we see this year, when he has really started to find his way back to the top echelons, is that he is the focus.
"Although he's played in fewer tournaments, his brands have exposure that is double the amount of the average golfer and more than any other player on tour.
"It is the Tiger Effect. As he has bounced back, that effect is strong. For those four tournaments where he has finished in the top 25, audiences are up 93 per cent. Where he's finished in the top five, they are even greater, and it amounts to 2.9 million extra people watching in the US."
Click on the attached video to hear more from Jon Long ahead of the start of The Masters, which you can watch live on Sky Sports Golf all week.
