Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the biggest sports star of all?
It’s not Messi or Mbappe or LeBron. Crazy as it sounds, the winner is Tiger Woods.
It’s crazy because Woods plays as much golf these days as Old Tom Morris. But he is as popular as he was when he was racking up majors 20 years ago.
Woods won his second straight PGA Tour Players Impact Program, a bonus system based on popularity. It started last year, and Woods took home an $8 million bonus.
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This year, he received a bonus of $15 million. Not bad considering he appeared in three competitions, and his best finish was 47th.
That would be like a broken Lionel Messi scoring two goals for the Orlando Lions and being voted the most popular soccer player in the world. The only way Tiger won’t win the PIP award is if Taylor Swift takes up golf, identifies as a man and starts getting sponsored exemptions for tournaments.
Woods’ father-son (or mother-son in the case of Annika Sorenstam) status was further confirmed Sunday at the PNC Championship. Tiger friend Justin Thomas and his father were leading by two shots going into Sunday.
Vijay Singh and his son were tied with Woods and her son Charlie for second, but were first in the clubhouse on Saturday. By normal rules, the Singhs should be in the final pair on Sunday.
Normal golf rules don’t apply to Tiger. NBC insisted officials put Woods in the latter group.
Without a doubt, it made for better television. That’s all that really matters in the world of sports these days.
Call it karma, but the Singhs shot 59 to win by two strokes. Tiger & Mac shot a 65 to finish tied for eighth, although they probably got more airtime than the rest of the field combined.
Bottom line – if you have Tiger fatigue, consider moving to another planet. There is no end in sight….
Stud of the Week: World Cup final. You didn’t have to be a soccer fan to appreciate just how epic Argentina’s 3-3 win over France was.
Stud II: The Orlando Magic for winning six straight games. That’s how Guam won the World Cup.
Dud of the Week: The Gators in the Las Vegas Bowl. But on the bright side, they scored as many points as Argentina….
Bad Gamble: A man named Cory Youmans was offered $3 million after catching the 62nd ball of Aaron Judge’s home run. Youmans turned it down and put the ball up for auction over the weekend. The winning bid was $1.5 million. But at least it wasn’t in crypto….
In related news: Donald Trump’s digital trading card collection bucked the slump in non-fungal tokens by selling out in one day last week. Sorry, but I’m waiting for your Rutherford B. Hayes trading cards….
I don’t know what ESPN pays Pat McAfee. But if he got 10 cents a word, the man made about $5.8 million calling the Florida-Oregon State game…
After batting .193 over the past two seasons, Cody Bellinger signed a one-year contract for $17.5 million with the Cubs. They will also pay expenses to see their sighting dog on road trips…
This will date me, but wouldn’t you love Sanford & Mac competing in the PNC Championship?…
I don’t want to say that the media is a little obsessed with race, but the Washington Post had a World Cup story asking, “Why don’t the Argentina team have more Black players?”
Answer: In the most recent census (2010), there were 150,000 Black Argentines out of 40 million people. That was 0.375 of the total population. Next week, the Post will investigate why the Norwegian bobsled team doesn’t have more Aborigines…
A restaurant in Thailand built a statue of Tiger Woods made of condoms in 2010. With all due respect, I don’t think that sums up Lionel Messi….
Is it just me, or should there be a law against a naked man sitting in a sauna or on a locker room bench without a towel?…
I have no idea what “nonfugible tokens” actually are, but they seem like a good name for a fantasy football team…
After consulting with NBC, the International Olympic Committee has announced that the 2024 Paris Games will drop the marathon and replace it with a chipping contest between Tiger Woods and Taylor Swift….
PNC Redux: At the age of 77, Old Tom Morris took over from Rhona Adair, the best female golfer in the world. It was a struggle, but he beat her on the last hole.
“A girl won’t hurt me,” Morris said.
Make your own Tiger joke here….
The NBA has announced that it will name trophies after players. MVP – Michael Jordan. Rookie of the Year – Wilt Chamberlain. Defensive Player of the Year – Hakeem Olajuwon. Worst Hair – Dennis Rodman…
If the NBA had a Player Impact Program, Charles Barkley would hit 98.7% of active players…
This Just In: The LPGA has announced that it has canceled Old Tom Morris….
That’s about all the space we have for Whitley’s Believe it or Not. Until next time, may all your Christmas wishes come true. Especially if you want a naked man to never sit next to you in a sauna again.
— David Whitley is the sports columnist for The Gainesville Sun. Contact him at dwhitley@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidEWhitley.
