Vancouver Blogger Sriseth

I know that some golf fans are lacking interest in current PGA Tour events due to the absence of their favourite player. For the past decade and a half, Tiger Woods has been a sensation not only in golf but also in all of sports. It's no surprise that many have developed an interest in the sport just because of him. But golf is not a one man show; it's been there for centuries as a popular sport. I remember watching golf in pre-Tiger era when Nick Faldo, Ernie Els and Greg Norman played. For some reason, this weeks WGC-CA championship at Doral reminded me those days. There was a truly international field present at this World Golf Championship event. This is where true champions of golf- chosen according to the World Golf Rankings- meet. With players coming from different tours worldwide, you could see different styles of play making it an interestingly competitive event.

It was the first high-calibre golf championship since Tiger's retirement, making it quite a different TV viewing experience. It is no secret that both NBC and CBS provide excessive screen time for Tiger Woods during their weekend golf telecasts to the point it's annoying to watch at times. Driven by the super-stardem of Tiger, TV cameras try to capture every move, guesture and emotion from the moment he steps into the golf course. Doesn't matter whether Tiger is on top of the leaderboard or just trying to make the cut, there are millions of Tiger fans wanting to capture every glimpse of him. This often results in blacking out shots of other players. It has been frustrating for the fans of Vijay Singh, Ernie Els or Mike Weir not to see them in action live on TV. With the absence of Tiger, this weekend's NBC telecast was different and most of shots of top 10 players (plus Mickelson) were shown live. Simply put, it was watchable. Ernie Els played wonderfully to win after a long drought bringing back memories of early ninties golf. It was a multi-colour leaderboard at the end with top 10 finishers coming from 8 different countries. Although the glamour of Tiger was missed, there was a higher sporting spirit at Doral during this weeks golf event.