When Tiger Woods pulled out of the Players Championship just about a month ago, many of us wondered whether he'd actually be back in time for the U.S. Open, golf's second major. And in a foreshadowing moment, Andrew Sharp wondered what kind of affect Woods skipping the U.S. Open would have on ticket sales at Congressional.
So with that in mind, I hope Tiger's knee gets better soon because the U.S. Open's in D.C. next month, and if Tiger's not playing, than those tickets I was bidding on might as well be worthless
Turns out, he was pretty much spot-on.
Ticket prices are down 20 percent since Woods announced he would miss the event, and the price drop may not be over yet.
Four-day tickets to the tournament on EBay Inc. (EBAY)’s Stubhub dropped today to $402 from almost $500 on June 7, when Woods withdrew because of leg injuries, company spokesman Glenn Lehrman said in a telephone interview.
Lehrman said he anticipates prices will continue to drop another 17 percent by next week
Love him or hate him, Tiger is a draw. And as much as we want to point at all the other young stars in golf, there is only one Tiger Woods. Even in decline, without having won an event in 600 days, he can still single-handedly pull ticket and sponsorship dollars.
When prices for the U.S. Open, the premier golf event in the United States, are falling, it's evident just how much golf needs Tiger in the fold.