Made for TV
ESPN treated Tiger Woods’ return to golf at the Masters as an epic event Thursday, while only obliquely explaining why viewers should care.
The sports network, which is carrying the first two rounds of the tournament, cut into “SportsCenter” more than two hours before its Masters coverage began to show Woods’ first competitive tee shot since the sex scandal that sidelined him. Well before that, a clock on the screen ticked off the seconds until Woods was scheduled to begin.
“It’s very unusual,” said anchor Scott Van Pelt. “Usually in a major tournament you’re most interested in the final shot on Sunday. This year, we’re most interested in the first shot on Thursday.”
ESPN’s Mike Tirico said many fans in the gallery had planned their schedule around trying to be at the tee when Woods started. The crowd there cheered Woods and offered shouts of encouragement.
Tirico said that “I think you know the timeline going back to the SUV crash in November,” leaving out details of Woods’ rehab and reemergence. The words “sex” or “infidelity” were not used, nor was there mention of Woods’ wife, Elin.
Even while keeping his remarks general, analyst Curtis Strange oddly contradicted himself during that early coverage.
“There is nothing routine about what he is doing right now,” Strange said as Woods approached the first tee. “He has to be full of more nerves, more anxiety than he’s felt in his life, I should say in his career.”
Yet after Woods made his first show and flashed a smile, Strange said, “this might be the most comfortable he has been in the last four or five months, getting back on the first tee of a tournament.”
An airplane flew above the Masters grounds carrying a dig at the golfer — “Tiger did you mean bootyism?” — a reference to Woods’ admission that part of the reason for his troubles was he got away from Buddhism, the faith in which he was raised. Some people in the stands laughed and pulled out binoculars to get a closer look. ESPN briefly showed the plane later in its coverage.
Prohibited from covering Woods live until 4 p.m. EDT, the network instead showed Woods’ subsequent shots on a tape-delayed basis.
Rick Burton, a former U.S. Olympics Committee official who’s now a sports marketing professor at Syracuse University, said ESPN was aiming for balance in a tough spot. He noted that ESPN has a contract with Masters organizers to show the tournament, and those officials are known in sports for keeping a tight rein on how its broadcast partners handles coverage.
“There may have been more things they could have said,” Burton said, “but it would not have served their long-term financial interests.”
Nike’s commercial with Woods’ late father talking as his son’s unsmiling face looks into the camera was aired 15 minutes before the first shot, then again shortly after.
The advertisement had rapidly become a topic for conversation when it was released the day earlier. ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel, on his late-night show, aired the commercial and said, “That’ll make you want to buy shoes, won’t it?”
He then aired a parody version with Woods’ “mother” yelling at him and smacking him with a rolled-up newspaper.
PARTING SHOT
“I’m sure that the young players have no clue who Arnold and I are.”
— Jack Nicklaus
The 70-year-old PGA legend, who won the Masters a record six times, reflecting on how golf’s rising stars viewed him and 80-year-old Arnold Palmer, a four-time champion at Augusta National, teeing off as this year’s honorary co-starters for the prestigious tournament.
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