No question, the news reports seem incongruous.
After haemorrhaging sponsors in the aftermath of his personal issues and 30-month slump, Tiger Woods continues to outpace every sports figure on the planet in estimated annual earnings.
From Forbes to the various golf publications, Woods is ranked a firm No 1 in the world in a far-bigger arena than an 18-hole golf venue. Yet, he has lost so many endorsements, including videogame manufacturer EA Sports last year, that it does not logically compute – until the flight log of his private jet is reviewed.
If multiple reports, and plenty of them, are accurate, Woods made US$5 million (Dh18.4m) in the span of eight days for playing five rounds of golf in the UAE and India. A Gulfstream jet has become his new economic engine.
Forget changing swings, because Woods has overhauled his business model: Show up, shake a few hands, kiss a few babies, backslap a few rich guys and fake his way through a slap-and-tickle exhibition while earning about $140,000 per hole.
After receiving $2.5m to play in last week’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic, Woods flew to Delhi, and the Hero MotoCorp made it worth his while. Hero worship, indeed.
In a $2.5m one-day outing on Tuesday that was funded by golf enthusiast Pawan Munjal of Hero, Woods raked it around Delhi Golf Club with a trio of Indian-born pros. While endorsements in the West have dried up – Woods has struggled to find a sponsor for his annual year-end tournament – there are no such issues in the Middle East and Asia, where the stigma from the scandal has either been forgotten or is of lesser cultural consequence.
The one-off exhibitions have increasingly become part of his landscape – as have locales such as China and Macau.
Over the course of a year, a US endorsement deal might require Woods to play in certain PGA Tour events, host a clinic for company brass, stage a photo shoot for print adverts and film the occasional television spot. Exhibitions have no such strings attached.
He mixed in several one-day paydays in Asia last fall, including an exhibition match against former world No 1 Rory McIlroy for the second year in a row.
If Woods does a half-dozen such appearances in a year, that represents around $15m, which lessens the sting of lost mega-deals withmany sponsors. Forbes estimated his haul at $83m in 2013.
In far-flung locales, it is like the shine on Woods’s star never diminished, and the reaction in India was nothing short of fawning.
Woods met Sachin Tendulkar, stayed in a posh presidential suite and reportedly finished nine under for the day. Munjal was particularly giddy.
“Tiger will be back for the Indian Open,” Munjal said.
Said Woods: “It was a great fun and I would love to come back.”
His accountant would love it, too.
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