Golf Doing Fine in Tiger's Absence

Shortly after Thanksgiving night of 2009, when Tiger Woods crashed his car in a single-car accident and set off a tabloid paper's dream scenario, many wondered if the game of golf could recover. Tiger's personal life was in shambles and his golf game quickly followed suit. There were some high moments for Woods, but by and large his game has spiraled downward to the point where he's a bit of an afterthought. 

10 years ago, maybe even up to two years ago, the idea of Tiger Woods being absent from the Masters and it not being that big of a deal was ludicrous. He was golf's biggest star and breaking Jack Nicklaus' majors record was inevitable. But that was then and this is now. Tiger is done and new faces have stepped to the forefront of the golf world.

The game of golf is just fine. Sure, replacing Tiger Woods is an impossible task and he will still generate more buzz than anybody when he tees it up, but the game of golf didn't need someone to replace Tiger. The game needed fresh faces and the PGA Tour is competitive with guys like Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth, Jason Day and Rory McIlroy.

It's a matter of preference, but the game is more unpredictable now. 12 different players have won a major in the last four years. It's created a question of who is the best? Spieth, Bubba Watson and McIlroy have each won two in the past four years, while Jason Day has a win and a whole cupboard full of top-four finishes in that span.

The game has legitimate stars competing for the top spot. That's different from the years before 2012 when 15 different players won the 16 majors from 2008-11. Padraig Harrington was the only player to win twice in that span and golf was searching for its stars. The parity was a bad thing in the sense that no player could drum up a consistent following and interest.

Times have changed. The lovable Watson has emerged as a consistent threat and McIlroy and Spieth have both had short runs that looked Tiger-esque. With the 2016 Masters underway, the game has an excitement around it that hasn't been seen since Woods went on the decline. The announcement that Woods wouldn't be at Augusta this year was met with the obvious media attention, but it was different than years past. 

No longer is Tiger's absence a "death sentence" for golf and rarely do casual fans refuse to tune in anymore just because Woods isn't playing. That once seemed unfathomable, but it speaks to the quality of play on the Tour now. 

The Masters is moving right along without Tiger and the game of golf is too. It's still yet to be seen if Woods will come back and be competitive, but know this: even if he never does, the game of golf will be just fine. The PGA's slogan, #TheseGuysAreGood, is true and it's worth tuning in.