Golf: Woods' rivals fear gravy train derailed

The latest rumours in the Tiger Woods saga centre around the probability of his wife and sponsors giving him an "indefinite break".

But at least the world No 1 can be certain that one ever-loyal section of his world still wants him - his rivals.

Yesterday, the game of golf was still digesting Saturday's stunning announcement that Woods has "taken a hiatus" from competitive sport as he attempts to save his marriage after a fortnight of allegations of extra-marital affairs.

The Shark Shootout in Florida is traditionally an end-of-year jolly with the emphasis on easy money. But Graeme McDowell, the Europe Ryder Cup player, revealed the atmosphere at the Tiburon Golf Club this year has been one of long-term concern for their profession's finances.

"We're under no illusions," McDowell said.

"We're much more prosperous golfers for having Tiger Woods playing in our era. There's plenty of global superstars on the way up to replace him. But they're not just quite ready to replace him yet. We need him to hang around for another four or five years."

McDowell is of the opinion that Woods' self-enforced exile - "to focus on being a better husband, father and person" - will not be too long, although like Geoff Ogilvy, he does confess "indefinite is a scary word".

Woods' chosen adjective has sent a collective shiver down the spine, as Greg Norman, the Shark Shootout host, revealed with unwitting irony.

"The tour has got to be worried, because what's the definition of indefinite?" asked the Australian. "Indefinite meaning, OK, it might be a year because a lot of issues have got to be resolved? That's the word you've kind of got to drill in on."

That is an exercise being undertaken by so many tournament organisers around the globe.

Perhaps, none are doing so quite as optimistically as those at the Dubai Desert Classic, who yesterday told Woods he could break European Tour rules and "decide just two days before to come".

Their event is at the start of February.

If Woods' period of penance is to be taken at all seriously then surely he will need to miss at least a few months, if not one major. Sandy Lyle is of the belief that Augusta should prepare to be without their four-time champion.

"As far as The Masters is concerned in April, it looks a bit grim," said the Scotsman. " The sport needs Tiger to come back. He's put golf on the map."

Woods also put golf on prime-time TV, particularly in his own country. Last year, when Woods missed eight months after his ACL reconstruction, viewing figures were cut in half in America.

"I don't think it's going to help anything, that's for sure - especially in a recession," said Nick Price, the three-time major winner. "It's hard enough to find sponsors out there and now to try to sell things without Tiger in the field ..."

What else changes around Woods will also be of interest. Focus has inevitably fallen on the role of his caddie, Steve Williams. The New Zealander has often been described as being like an older brother to Woods.

But Williams has insisted that he was as much in the dark as anyone. "I had no knowledge of what Tiger's indiscretion was," said Williams, who has been Woods' bagman for more than a decade. "What people fail to realise is I just work for Tiger Woods. I travel to and from New Zealand to caddie. Whilst I am a very good friend of his ... I don't know what he does off the course."

Peter Alliss sounds like one of those minded to believe Williams. "Tiger's got very few friends in my opinion," said the veteran BBC commentator.

"Very few people have got into the inner sanctum, so nobody really knows him. But if he doesn't play for the first six months of next year then he might have decided he's come to the end of the road. He's going to have to put up with a lot of nonsense and ridicule and comment for the next 20 to 30 years and it depends how well he tackles that. If we learn come the end of February that he's not going to play in The Masters at Augusta in April, and maybe not in our Open Championship in July, then it's getting very serious."

- INDEPENDENT