While there are many elements to the latest Woods comeback that are surprising, the resilience of his ability to draw a crowd has to be near the top of the list. It has been almost five years since he won a PGA Tour tournament, and a full decade since he won a major championship. It was the biggest non-major ratings draw since Woods won the Players Championship in 2013, when his biggest problems were still just his knee and marital fidelity. If nothing else, it’s evidence that golf will never again approach the interest levels of the peak Woods years once he retires. And it’s why golf, beset by falling participation rates, course closures, and major retailers and manufactures exiting the business, desperately needs this Woods comeback to last for a while.

Source: National Post March 20, 2018 15:00 UTC