Woods oversteps bounds

Call me Judge Wapner or Judy, but in this judge's eyes, the world's most talented golfer has overstepped his bounds with his latest comments.

Tiger Woods, who's estimated to earn more than $50 million a year in advertising contracts, suggested he should be awarded a cut of future PGA Tour television revenues. Whoa Woods, ever heard of guys like Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus?

The game was around for years before you and will continue beyond the Tiger Woods era. If the PGA Tour starts writing television revenue checks to Woods, they might as well write back payment checks to Palmer and Nicklaus. These guys laid the foundation for the "soapbox" on which Woods now stands.

Further reports have suggested Woods, who has dominated the sport for the past two seasons, could cut his ties with the PGA Tour and branch out on his own if this dispute isn't resolved.

Woods' father, Earl Woods, recently added fuel to the fire by saying, "Tiger can take his game to Europe, Africa, Asia or wherever he wants, and the world will follow."

That may be true, but in my eyes, I wouldn't bank on the old clichˇ of "father knows best."

In my opinion, unless the world's top 50 players follow Tiger Woods, his threat of leaving the PGA Tour is weak. Woods needs the PGA Tour and its wealth of top-notch competition just as much as the PGA Tour needs him and his legion of fans. And, riches aside, Woods wants to be the best player in the history of the game. He needs the PGA Tour to do that.

The answer to this mess may lie as close as Woods and the PGA Tour's back yard. Both entities are well intentioned in their mission to make golf available to youngsters who couldn't otherwise afford it or don't have access to the game through their respective charitable foundations -- the Tiger Woods Foundation and the PGA Tour's First Tee Program.

Such an honorable mission takes dollars -- lots of them. We're talking big money that comes from the likes of television revenue contracts.

The effort of the PGA Tour to make the sacred game of golf more like other sports is unfortunately becoming a reality. Along with greater popularity, golf is inheriting many of the problems associated with the major sports: player unrest, appearances of greed, growing misbehavior among fans and a lack of focus for the greater good of a global game.

Clay Meininger is the director of golf at The Revere at Anthem. He can be reached at 259-4653.