Three weeks in to his return to professional golf Tiger Woods is already causing controversy again. A fan threw a hot dog at Tiger to give us some good fodder. Tiger Woods just obtained his first endorsement contract of 2011. My husband quipped “what is it a divorce attorney?” but that is not the case even though it was funny. The company that he signed the endorsement deal with was Rolex. If you remember Tiger was dropped by the watch maker Tag Heuer. He also didn’t qualify for several tournaments this year and is falling below 50% quintile on the money leaders for the PGA. But I will say he has a better disposition then I have seen in a long time. When the guy threw the hot dog at him during a putt this weekend at the Frys.com Open, he actually laughed it off. He seemed to think it was funny during his TV interview. This is not the Tiger of early days when he would have stormed off, broken a club in half or caused some “Tiger Drama”. He seems to be much more humble, much more relaxed, and much more laid back. Even though the fame and stress does not excuse his actions of being the ultimate Don Juan while married with two kids, maybe the fame was getting to him and making him a nasty person. His appearance at the Frys.com Open actually tripled the expected attendance. My guess is he may never be back to one of the top money leaders like Matt Kutcher but he will draw a crowd, bring on huge endorsements for himself and provide plenty of entertainment and fodder for all of us. Tiger Woods is still a huge draw for golf, no matter what anyone says and whether you like him or you don’t. Remember last year Tiger Woods is the highest-paid professional athlete in the world, having earned an estimated $90.5 million from winnings and endorsements in 2010.
Tiger also has a new caddie after the drama of firing his last caddie and the harsh words of criticism that followed in the news. He also has a new girlfriend 22 yrs old. We will anxiously await more “baby mama drama” to come from the latter situation.