HIGH OF THE TIGER

TIGER WOODS lost a gunfight on Thursday just up the road from where Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday cleaned out the Clanton Gang.

But his return to the saddle at the World Match Play Championship may have helped golf dodge a deadly bullet.

The No 1 bounced back from an eight-month layoff after knee surgery to defend a title he has won three times, only to get blasted out in the second round by South African Tim Clark.

But Tiger's comeback was the shot in the arm the game needed after an alarming decline in TV ratings and ticket sales during his absence.

When Padraig Harrington won the USPGA last August, TV viewing figures in the US were down 55 per cent on the previous year when Woods won his second straight title.

Harrington's victory in The Open at Royal Birkdale was watched by 11 per cent fewer viewers than in 2007.

Prize

When American Nick Watney won the Buick Invitational three weeks ago, the final-round ratings on CBS dropped 60 per cent from 2008 when Woods won the event for a fourth time in a row.

PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said: "Everybody knows that when the world's No 1 athlete plays, we have more eyes watching the broadcast, more headlines and more attention."

Two months ago Finchem announced prize money, which nearly quadrupled to £209million during Woods' first 11 years on Tour, would "certainly flatten" in the coming seasons.

The recession is also threatening crucial sponsorship deals for 20 tournaments on the PGA Tour, whose agreements are set to end in 2010.

Even Woods took a hit when General Motors terminated its £49m, 10-year endorsement deal with him a year early in November - though Woods earned an estimated £84m last year.

Woods said: "The Tour is obviously feeling it, just like any other part of business.

Health

"It's one of those times when we may lose a few tournaments and this is a very important year for us."

Woods' continued good health and participation in tournaments - after four knee ops in his career - are vital for the future of the game and, despite his early exit at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, his former coach Butch Harmon believes that he will soon be back to his best.

Harmon said: "He swung the club beautifully this week. Obviously, he was rusty because he hasn't played. He was a little off with his distances but that's to be expected.

"If the knee is as strong as he says it is, stronger than it's ever been, then he's going to be better, obviously. He's played with a lot of pain over the last few years.

"It can only be a plus for him now that he says his knee is stronger than it's ever been and it's a plus for the game that he's back.

"We're going to see the greatest player in the world play even better. It's going to be a lot more fun again."

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