Rather than just giving you my opinions of the Tiger Woods press conference from this morning, I decided to ask everyone on Twitter what they thought. I felt that this would be a more accurate gauge of how the public viewed his statements. Feel free to share your response in the comments below, and thank you to everyone that responded to my Twitter request!

• sportsarizona - Tiger reax: An acting performance that would have made William Shatner proud.
• Stefmara – I didn’t watch! Haven’t cared about this story since the news broke back around Thanksgiving that he cheated.
• 7thWoman – “insincere.”
• khuda1 – Narcissistic
• MeganCassidy – I like that he apologized and defended Elin, I didn’t like how it was delivered at all. Message was right, not the presentation
• js_bizofsports – A heavily-scripted yet ultimately fascinating performance by Tiger Woods. Not necessarily effective, but riveting.
• sports_business – who cares? 1st step to return to normalcy. Time/performance will make him like everyone else (Lewis, Phelps, Kobe, etc.)
• amandarykoff – My take on the Tiger statement: “I screwed up. I got caught. And now I need to say these words.” Blah blah blah.
• nikegoal - it was artificial & hollow, carefully calculated by team Tiger, lack of a true human touch
• EdisonLee – Took a half step forward, TW will still need to answer questions – press won’t be satisfied w/ the staged presser
• IOnSportsMedia – “He did what he had to do as part of his “recovery” process (i.e. apologize), so only time will tell”
• mmahoney13 – Tiger’s anger was believeable, if not poorly timed, but his apology was not believable.. Just play golf please
• jhalitsky – Sure, he’s robotic. We knew that. Did every1 really expect a charismatic Tiger to magically show? Didn’t love it, but w/in expecs
• SteveDittmore – I see lot of vitriol to Tiger’s speech. What is that ppl wanted him to say? Or, is it reaction to delivery and sterile delivery?
• Anita_Lobo – wasted opportunity i.e. going through the motions drags Tiger’s image a few notches lower #sportsbiz #tiger / on the other hand now that the apology is done; let’s get back to #golf!
• WesleyMallette – Perfect today? No. Starting point? Yes. He owned it. Addressed most important issues. Now? Time to rebuild. Most important comment? Owning the money, power, fame and entitlement issue.

Yes, this post has to do with Tiger Woods, but not in the same manner as most of the other stories circulating out on the Internet. I want to quickly address the unique opportunity that Tiger’s absence is creating in the business landscape for golf. Beyond the basic idea that other golfers will have a better chance of winning and building up their own brand, this is an incredible chance for equipment manufacturers that are NOT endorsed by Tiger to step up and gain market share.

For example, I saw this Phil Mickelson/Callaway commercial twice this weekend (click here to view the video).

I believe one time I saw it during a Sunday NFL game, which is an expensive time slot. Now I don’t remember seeing many Callaway commercials over the past few months, so hopefully this is an example of Callaway realizing that Nike is vulnerable right now. By committing more money to their advertising spend, I believe that this will be their best chance to steal market share from Nike. This same approach can be taken from any other golf club, ball or apparel manufacturer.

Hopefully all of these non-Tiger-endorsed golf companies are reevaluating their media spend budget and schedule right now. How many opportunities like this will they get to make a big dent in their competition?

Michelle Wie won her first LPGA tournament this past Sunday when she outlasted Paula Creamer to claim the Lorena Ochoa Invitational in Guadalajara, Mexico. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who was shocked to read in subsequent news articles that she is only 20 years old. She fell out of the limelight so long ago that I had assumed she was completely washed up. The only time I recently remember hearing her name was when she missed a cut.

Just a few days ago, that all changed. The golfer who has raked in approximately $50 million in endorsements from the likes of Nike and Sony finally cashed the kind of check she’s been chasing all these years. For someone who turned pro just days before her 16th birthday and played her first LPGA event at the age of 12, the pressure to win must have been enormous. She faced down that pressure, both internal and external, to grab the two-stroke win with an up-and-down from a green-side bunker.

For her endorsers, this win was a long time coming. Nike was prominently displayed on her clothes and hat after sticking with her since day one. Sony, on the other hand, may be kicking themselves. They dropped Wie from her $5 million a year contract back in April.

For the embattled LPGA, this win couldn’t have come at a better time. In July, commisioner Carolyn Bivens resigned amid growing concerns about the LPGA’s viability in this difficult economy. At the end of October, former marketing executive Michael Whan came on board to re-establish broken ties with sponsors, and win back the trust of the players. With one eight-inch putt, Michelle Wie put the LPGA on the front pages of newspapers and splashed across countless sports sites and blogs.

Does Wie’s win ’save’ the LPGA? Not necessarily, and she’s not yet up to Tiger Woods’ standards, but the trophy does give the struggling tour a much-needed boost. It was extremely gratuitous that the win came just days before the LPGA announced their 2010 schedule which includes 24 events in 10 countries. Just 17 of those events have sponsors though, down from 34 in 2008. So having one of the most recognizable faces on tour win her first tournament certainly perked up the LPGA brass and Wie being in contention affected more than just her trophy case. According to Bloomberg.com, page views for LPGA.com rose 84% over 2008 and numbers for the final round doubled the numbers of the two previous days.

In the past, Wie was known for trying to compete against the men. She has missed eight cuts on the PGA tour and just joined the LPGA full-time this season. After winning the Lorena Ochoa Invitational, Wie said “I’m motivated to practice harder and play better and win more.” Those words must be music to the ears of executives and sponsors of the LPGA tour. After all, they’ve been waiting for this day for a long, long time.

Here are my quick picks for this week, “Commercials Edition”:

Baseball: The latest ESPN advertisement for the World Baseball Classic:

This isn’t actually the version of the commercial I was hoping to find.  There is another one that includes Jeter, Ichiro, and Rodriguez, where Jeter says he’s played for world champions, Ichiro says he’s played for the WBC champions, and Rodriguez says he’s played for “division winners.”  The commercial seemed odd that it almost highlighted A-Rod’s lack of a championship compared to the other two.  Also, with his latest controversies, the Dominican Republic’s impressive roster and the fact that A-Rod played for the U.S. last year, I wonder if they could have picked a different player to be in his spot.

Golf:  The latest Nike advertisement with Tiger Woods:

The thing that impressed me with this spot is the willingness for the other golfers to openly admit they play second fiddle to Tiger now that he’s back.  I think this is a very funny and creative way to announce his return, and in a way, it still does highlight the success of some of the recent winners, which actually could help them build their names more in spite of Tiger’s return.  I’m sure the PGA was hoping that Tiger would last a little longer in the Accenture Match Play, but just getting him back out there was a huge lift.

Do you have a good “pick of the week?” Use the Contact Us link at the top of the page and send me your picks!

I’ve written about how the economy is impacting some of the major and minor professional sports leagues, but what about sport at a participation level?  I don’t think the economy is keeping kids and adults from playing basketball, football, or baseball/softball.  However, the one participation sport that seems most vulnerable is golf.  Let’s think about some of the attributes that fit with golf:

• The demographics are primarily middle-aged, white, middle-to-upper class males.  Of course, this is also one of the demographic segments that has been hit hardest by the crashing markets.
• Golf is an expensive sport to play, with the costs of equipment, clothing, and greens fees.  As personal entertainment budgets get reduced, it is hard to justify the cost of the game.  It will also be hard to justify the expense of equipment for young players that want to learn the game, which could have a longer-time impact on the sport.
• Golf is also a time-consuming sport.  With a down economy, people are less willing to set aside a large chunk of time, particularly during the work day, to play a round.
• The golf course is “where business happens.” Well, there’s not much new business happening, which means fewer “meetings” on the links.

Chris from Arizona State passed along a great MSNBC article from earlier this month that goes into much more detail on the troubles for the golf industry.  In particular, there are more course closings and fewer new courses being developed, which ties directly back to problems in the real estate world.  The article talks about how the housing market has reduced new development, since many courses are tied to new housing development. 

I think its reasonable to conclude that of all the different sports to take part in, golf is the one that will fluctuate very tightly with market conditions.  But are there others that you also expect to suffer?  Let me know your thoughts in the comments!