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      The Impact and Influence of Tiger Woods: Here. There. Everywhere.

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }Tiger Woods’s Car CrashWill Woods Play Again?Sheriff Expects No ChargesGolf Without TigerA Terrible Turn of FateCareer Highs and LowsAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyOn GolfThe Impact and Influence of Tiger Woods: Here. There. Everywhere.From fitness trailers to fist pumps and golf’s global representation, the star, recovering in the hospital after a serious car crash, has a hefty presence at a PGA tournament even when he’s not playing in it.Tiger Woods’s shadow loomed large Thursday at a World Golf Championship event, the first on the PGA tour since the news of his car crash.Credit…Erik S Lesser/EPA, via ShutterstockFeb. 25, 2021Updated 7:59 p.m. ETBRADENTON, Fla. — Tiger Woods was never expected to play in the first round of the PGA Tour event held Thursday in Central Florida. It did not matter. His presence, his influence, the impact of his life and career was evident throughout the grounds.If this is at least the beginning of the end of the Woods era in golf, in the wake of his serious car crash Tuesday, the setting at the Concession Golf Club, where the tournament is being held, revealed much about what he has meant to the sport and the almost incalculable change he has wrought.It was nearly impossible to look in any direction and not see Woods’s imprint.On the serpentine drive into the golf course, multiple, extra-wide trailers labeled “Player Performance Center” lined the road. They are mobile fitness facilities chock-full of treadmills and advanced exercise equipment.It would now be unthinkable to host a PGA Tour event without them, and the trailers log about 25,000 miles annually to keep up with the 100-plus pro golfers whose exacting workouts are now a sacrosanct part of their tournament regimens.Roughly 25 years ago, more PGA Tour players probably smoked than worked out during an event. What changed?Tiger Woods turned pro in 1996, won the Masters a year later and two months after that made the fastest ascent to No. 1 in the world golf rankings. Moreover, he was a workout freak, had started beefing up and his prodigious drives would soon spawn the redesign of top golf courses around the world.Golfers back then were a hodgepodge of shapes, some with bellies that bulged over gaudy white belts. It was an image that perpetuated the notion that golf was not a sport. There is a different look on the tour these days, and a short walk from the fitness trailers to the practice range would prove it.From behind the range, one could assess the form and movements of several dozen top golfers whose ages ranged from about 20 to 40. Nearly all had trim, athletic builds — and flat stomachs. They swung ferociously hard, yet never seemed out of balance, a compliment to their conditioning and developed strength and flexibility. Most had learned and honed that mix of pliancy and power from watching a single uber-dedicated golfer, their idol, Tiger Woods. Even the swing coaches who stood by the golfers had studied and memorized every Woods move before he had turned 30 years old. In other words, by the time he had won his 10th major championship.Just beyond the range was the first tee, and the path leading to it was awash in the emblems of corporate sponsors. Professional golf had always been supported by commercial interests but that relationship blossomed exponentially as Woods came up on the scene with a memorable Nike television advertisement when he stared into the camera and said: “Hello, world.”Thursday, there was a scoreboard near the first tee encircled by not one, but seven logos from tournament sponsors. The prize money for the one-week event is $10.5 million, or around five times what PGA Tour tournaments paid before Woods turned pro.This week’s event is a World Golf Championship event, a collaborative effort to periodically bring together the best players from tours in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. There were no world championships until 1999, by which time Woods, whose multicultural background had helped golf explode internationally, had won two majors and 13 PGA Tour events (and, of course, he won two of the three inaugural World Golf Championships in 1999).As play began in the first round, long putts dropped and players celebrated with uppercut, clenched fist pumps. There was no reason to ask where they learned such a signature move. They wore eye-catching colors made by top designers who earned most of their revenue outside golf and their garb was embossed with the logos of sponsors whose customers might not even be golfers: luxury car manufactures, credit card companies, premium watch makers. Woods pioneered such crossover appeal.It did not matter where one walked. Woods was here. Wednesday, Rory McIlroy, a four-time major winner who grew up idolizing Woods and now considers him a close friend, was asked if the players in this week’s field had considered some kind of tribute to Woods. McIlroy shook his head back and forth.“He’s not gone,” McIlroy said. “I feel like we should pay tribute to him every day for being on the PGA Tour and what he’s done for golf.”AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      As Sports Gambling Grows, So Do Appetite-Whetting Sure Bets

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      AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyAs Sports Gambling Grows, So Do Appetite-Whetting Sure BetsOnline gambling sites are offering can’t-lose propositions, giving away easy money to attract new customers to a nascent multibillion-dollar industry. These come-ons should reach a crescendo just ahead of the Super Bowl.CreditCredit…Alex Eben MeyerFeb. 2, 2021, 9:06 a.m. ETYou’ve heard it all your life: There is no such thing as a sure thing. Well, that was before betting on sports could be legal anywhere in the United States. Now it’s a free-for-all of easy money as sports books in search of new customers hype their services on sports broadcasts, social media and drive-time air waves.Last week in Michigan, where online betting recently became legal, the gaming company FanDuel was happy to give new customers their beloved Detroit Pistons and an eye-popping plus 159.5 points against the Los Angeles Lakers. Bettors didn’t need the can’t-lose points — Detroit won, 107-92, costing the sports book $2 million in payouts.For FanDuel, it was money well spent. For about $45 a head, the site signed up nearly 47,000 new Michigan bettors.In the gambling industry, can’t-miss propositions and cash handouts are time-tested ways to build market share quickly. These come-ons will reach a crescendo just ahead of this weekend’s Super Bowl, the holiest of occasions in the religion of sports and the most-watched television show in the United States.With DraftKings’ “Big Game No Brainer,” a new user will be able to turn $50 into $100 if either Tampa Bay or Kansas City scores a single touchdown in Sunday’s game. “Win Terry Bradshaw’s Money,” brought to you by FOX Bet, has already become a staple of N.F.L. programming on the network.Charles Barkley promotes FanDuel Sportsbook during TNT’s N.B.A. coverage.Credit…Turner SportsFox News interviewed the winner of a contest sponsored by FOX Bet.Credit…Fox NewsBookmakers have said the sports betting market is maturing faster than they anticipated, with an unfortunate and unlikely assist from the economic devastation left by the coronavirus pandemic.“The tipping point is here. What we went through last year is the driver,” said Kip Levin, the chief executive officer of FOX Bet. Even with the disruption in sports, Levin said, 14 betting states collectively took in more than $1 billion in revenue in 2020, demonstrating that sports gambling can bolster economies in new markets.“State officials recognize this and now they need revenues for their state,” he said.Less than three years after the Supreme Court struck down a federal law that prohibited sports gambling in most states, betting on games is legal and underway in 20 states and the District of Columbia.The more than $1 billion in 2020 revenue is projected to grow sixfold by 2023, according to a study by Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, a research and consulting firm. If all 50 states permit sports betting, revenues will surpass $19 billion annually, the study projects.Multibillion-dollar industries will beget multibillion-dollar marketing as bookmakers, media companies and tech entrepreneurs have rushed in to claim their place in the market.Check your Twitter and Instagram feeds, count the commercials and pay attention to the betting content now incorporated into pregame broadcast shows of all sports. On TNT’s N.B.A. broadcasts, America can go up against Charles Barkley in a proposition bet on, say, whether LeBron James or Giannis Antetokounmpo will score more points.“Sports betting now is like water and finding its way into everything, especially now when operators are trying to attract new customers,” said Chris Grove, a partner at Eilers & Krejcik. “In a mature market like the United Kingdom, a mid-tier bookmaker will spend about 40 cents of every dollar acquiring and retaining new customers. Here we’re seeing a 100 percent or more spend on each buck.”Last year, bookmakers spent more than $200 million on television advertising alone, according to the advertising information company MediaRadar, and since mid-June of 2020 they have increased their television spending by 82 percent over the previous year. Sports gaming executives have said they expect to double that amount on advertising and promotions by year’s end, as betting operations move closer to opening in five more states — Washington, North Carolina, Louisiana, Maryland, and South Dakota.Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York, who is banking on the State Legislature to approve mobile sports betting this spring, has said it could bring hundreds of millions of dollars into state coffers as New York is facing a multi-billion-dollar deficit. Despite his enthusiasm, Cuomo said he wanted the state to have tight control over the betting platforms, likening sports gambling to the state-run lottery.“This is not a moneymaker for private interests to collect just more tax revenue,” he said. “We want the actual revenue from sports betting.”No matter what deals are reached in New York, betting on sports has already demonstrated a grip on American culture and a capacity to assault our senses.CreditCredit…Alex Eben MeyerSports gaming executives acknowledge there is a fine line between seducing new customers and exhausting them. Officials at DraftKings and FanDuel said they had learned from mistakes they made trying to bring daily fantasy sports to the market.In 2015, the two sports books blanketed television with advertising, spending more than $100 million each, consistently ranking among the top companies each week in airtime purchased. During the N.F.L.’s opening weekend alone, DraftKings and FanDuel spent more than $27 million for about 8,000 television spots, according to data from iSpot.tv, which measures national TV advertising.The aggressive marketing helped lift each company’s valuation to $1 billion, but it also brought scrutiny from state attorneys general who were not convinced the fantasy games were legal. With expensive legal challenges and a backlash among customers, both businesses were badly damaged.“We spent a lot of money. It was not the wisest thing to do,” said John Avello, the director of the sports book at DraftKings. “It did make us well known. Now we do it smarter.”Mike Raffensperger, chief marketing officer at FanDuel, said sports books were merely following in the footsteps of Netflix, Uber and other digital companies that pioneered new markets.This time around, FanDuel wants to become part of the sports media landscape by exploiting social media and making exclusive content partnership deals with networks like TNT and Entercom Radio, one of the country’s largest owners of sports talk radio stations.With sports betting measures under consideration in heavily populated states such as California, Texas and Florida, sure-thing bets are certain to be dangled before new customers for years to come. Sports betting and its place in American culture are here to stay.“What the public thinks is going to happen in a game, which team is going to cover the spread, has become part of the larger narrative of sports,” Raffensperger said. “Betting on games has become part of the sports ecosystem.”Jesse McKinley More

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      For Elite Golfers, Money Talks

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Coronavirus OutbreakliveLatest UpdatesMaps and CasesU.S. Travel BanVaccine InformationTimelineAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyFor Elite Golfers, Money TalksSponsors have long paid players to compete in tournaments, but that money has become more important to get players to travel during the pandemic.High-profile players like Rory McIlroy, seen putting during round two of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship in 2018, bring in fans and make sponsors happy, so their presence is important.Credit…Matthew Lewis/Getty ImagesJan. 20, 2021, 5:02 a.m. ETCraig Spence has no doubt that the shot he hit into the 18th green in the final round of the Australian Masters in 1999 was what granted him entry into the lucrative world of international golf, with its larger purses and equally attractive appearance fees.That shot set Spence up for a putt to beat Greg Norman, who at that point had twice won the British Open, and Spence did it in their home country at its most important tournament.“I hit the perfect shot, four feet behind the hole,” he said.When he made the putt, for a birdie and the win, invitations to play on the Asian and Japan tours, the PGA Tour and the European Tour came pouring in.Those were great, but it was the appearance fees from sponsors for top international players and up-and-coming ones like him that made a few of the long trips easier to make. Those fees eased the pressure on Spence to cover the costs of bringing his caddie, coach and family members to tournaments.“Now you’re teeing it up and playing for free,” said Spence, who now teaches golf in Western Australia. “You’re not going to lose anything if you don’t play well.”In 1999 Craig Spence won the  Australian Masters and moved into the echelon of elite golfers offered appearance fees.Credit…Jack Atley/Getty ImagesPaying players to fly to a professional golf tournament might seem unnecessary. But it’s an old practice used even in events where the winner receives millions of dollars and where an also-ran can make tens of thousands.And coming out of 2020, when professional golf events after March were largely closed to fans because of the pandemic, those fees have become more important this year and are an integral part of a tournament’s marketing budget.Without marquee players, fewer fans will watch at home, further worsening the return for sponsors. As one agent pointed out, if viewership numbers were down, sponsors would be even more concerned with their marketing spending than they were now.“Appearance fees do still exist at certain events for certain players,” said James Dunkley, manager for Lee Westwood and other players.The European Tour’s swing through the Middle East is known for using appearance fees to build top-notch fields. Those tournaments include the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, which starts Thursday, followed by events in Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar, with prestige falling by the last two events.The reasons for paying fees are many. Without them, some top players won’t attend and the strength of the roster falls, which reduces the number of points available for the world golf rankings. That can further keep top players away. Sponsors, doling out millions of dollars, want to guarantee a strong field.Top players, who are mostly based in the United States, often want to avoid the travel and instead play in the early events on the PGA Tour, in Hawaii and California. They also have other commitments to schedule around.“Players typically commit to play 35 weeks, which leaves you 17 weeks a year off, or for holidays or sponsor obligations,” said Nick Biesecker, a longtime golf agent. “Time is your most valuable commodity. It has to be lucrative to carve out a week.”The Coronavirus Outbreak More