Related: BC Beat: End This Tiger Charade Already
Tiger Woods says he will return to golf at the 2010 Masters.
The news has been suspected for weeks, as Woods has attempted to repair his
image following very public reports of personal infidelities. So damaged was
Woods' personal image that a number of his sponsors, including Gatorade,
Gillette and Accenture ended their agreements with him.
Despite his personal issues, Woods is easily the most famous
and popular golfer playing today, with television ratings in tournaments he
plays in far higher than those he does not. When Woods was injured in 2008,
major tournaments saw significant drops in the ratings.
Woods' return is good news for CBS and ESPN, which will
televise the 2010 Masters tournament. Augusta National Golf Club also says it
will be shot in 3D HD for the first time, and distributed through Comcast to
early adopters with 3D capable sets.
"The Masters is where I won my first major and I view
this tournament with great respect," said Woods in a statement. "After a long
and necessary time away from the game, I feel like I'm ready to start my season
at Augusta."
"Tiger's return to competitive golf at this year's Masters Tournament will surely be one of the biggest stories the sporting world has seen. We will cover the Masters Tournament and Tiger's return across a variety of ESPN platforms, both domestically and internationally," said John Wildhack, ESPN executive VP of programming & acquisitions, in a statement.
