The fact is though, golf ratings have tanked since Tiger has been out.
Casual sports fans do not watch mediocre or just good players. I know a lot of Tiger haters, but the facts are when he plays, non-golf fanatic people watch. That is not lost on the firms who pay millions to have their stuff advertised on the tube. The Tiger haters can rail against him all they want, but he makes everybody in the golfing biz more money.