There was a time, just a handful of years ago, when news of Tiger Woods skipping a PGA Tour event would have caused organizers' blood pressure to spike.
Tiger meant buzz. Tiger meant crowds. Tiger meant legitimacy.
The days of Woods defining golf tournaments competitively has vanished, along with his injury-riddled game. At 40, with a back as angry as a line at the DMV, there's no reason shy of a visit to a dispensary to think that will change.
So when it became clear this week's Farmers Insurance Open would unfurl without Woods, a sinkhole didn't open up on the 18th green and locusts didn't ravage the rare pine trees.
The torch, at times, is slow and reluctant to be passed.
The handoff, though, is complete.
In 2013, Woods rolled along as Tiger Uninterrupted -- No. 1 on the money list with five PGA Tour victories and more than $8.5 million in winnings. In two injury-rocked seasons since, he's winless while banking $556,873.
The "Fab 4," the Beatles of the Back Nine comprised of Jordan Spieth, defending Farmers Insurance Open champion Jason Day, Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler, averaged 4.5 wins and $6,661,134 during Tiger's slide.
"It's definitely changing," Day said. "Everyone can see that. I think it's good for the game. I think the youth we have in the game now is going to be here for the next 10 to 15 to 20 years.
"There was an era where it was a Tiger and Phil (Michelson) rivalry. Now, there's three of us that are of trading back and forth between No. 1. Jordan has kind of separated himself a little bit now. My season is just getting started. Rory's just starting. It will be interesting.
"There was (Greg) Norman there at one point, Ray Floyd and Nick Faldo and all those guys. Every 10 to 20 years or so, it's like a cycle. Currently, we're in that process. It's turned into Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, myself, (Rickie) Fowler."
No one has busted through Tiger's wall of dominance like Spieth, who flirted with the Grand Slam a season ago, won five times and pocketed $12 million and change.
"I never thought there'd be another player that you could compare Tiger Woods to," Day said of Spieth, who opted to skip Torrey Pines after playing half a world away in Abu Dhabi last week. "Everyone is starting to slowly compare Jordan Spieth to Tiger Woods."
Make no mistake, though: Tiger still means TV.
Organizers will remind you this week's stock of talent is rich, buoyed by five of the Top 10 players in the world. They'll tell you the field, rankings wise, rises eight spots higher than a season ago. They'll argue that the finishing finesse of the young guns (Farmers entrant and world No. 10 Patrick Reed is 25, No. 4 Fowler is 27, Day is 28) is roaring to full crescendo.
Privately, they'll peek at productions trucks from the Golf Channel and CBS and stew over the fact that Tiger -- even a limping, flailing, failing Tiger -- isn't there to ignite interest beyond the galleries.
Tiger was, is and, miraculously, remains a gravitational force unlike anything in golf's television era, no matter the condition of his game.
At the Wyndham Championship in late August, Woods finished tied for 10th -- his only serious run of the season after missing cuts in three of his previous five events. All it took was a whiff of possibility, a hint of championship form, for viewers to inch forward on their Barcaloungers.
Ratings for the third round of the Wyndham rocketed 220 percent higher than the year before according to CBS, stunningly higher than the third rounds of the PGA Championship (won by Day), U.S. Open and Spieth's quest for immortality at the British Open.
That, for a player currently ranked No. 426.
Why? Well, we cared about the insane talent, the promise delivered on all those years ago on The Mike Douglas Show. We were drawn to the flair on the course and the flaws off of it.
There's no disputing what Tiger's golf game says -- or more appropriately, said.
Only Sam Snead owns more Tour victories. That puts Woods in front of Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan and Arnold Palmer. He's in the sport's Mount Rushmore conversation, without doubt.
"I honestly miss those days because he was a guy I grew up watching," Day said. "I miss watching him play professional golf like that. I always had a dream -- I wanted contend against Tiger on Sunday at his best.
"Right now, it's hard to see that with all the injuries he's had."
The "want" for Tiger is a little like Kobe Bryant being named an All-Star Game starter in his final season. Residual adoration lingers and respect clings for the indisputable accomplishment and longevity.
We want to savor our Nicklaus walking over the Swilcan Bridge at St. Andrews. We want to soak up a wry smile from our Palmer amid Augusta's blazing azaleas. Each snapshot spurs a personal highlight reel in our minds -- a chance to relive the journey and rewind the moments that amazed.
There's Tiger, the TV reality show. There, the pain continues.
There's also Tiger, the golfer. On that front, the Farmers Insurance Open is just fine.
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