Still his game

The astounding thing, of course, is not that he came up shy of a playoff by 2 1/2 feet of manicured grass. Or that he shot four rounds under par for the first time since Old Tom Morris invented the term "You da man!" Or that his tie for second yesterday at the Valspar Championship was his best finish since tying for second at the Barclays 4 1/2 years ago.

No, sir. The astounding thing is that, at 42 years of age, with a surgical back and knees and lord knows what else, Tiger Woods is still the most important golfer on the planet.

Because he put four rounds together for the first time in eons, viewership went through the roof. Betting on the Masters suddenly spiked. And all over America, on Selection Sunday, people were watching golf in a way they never watch it outside of the majors.

Five years past his last PGA Tour victory, a good decade past his peak, Tiger Woods is still the man who moves the needle in golf. In a sport stuffed with more young talent than at any time in the last 30 or 40 years, it is the 42-year-old with the bad back who still gets people to watch.

Just the fact he was contending was enough to bury the aforementioned needle. Saturday's third round produced the best PGA Tour third-round overnights in nearly 12 years. They were 181 percent higher than last year's Valspar third round, and the highest third-round numbers on network TV since 2003.

These are not numbers that reflect mere popularity. These are numbers that reflect icon status. These are numbers that hint at a cult following unseen since the days when Arnie's Army was hooting and hollering and piercing golf's aura of privilege in pursuit of Arnold Palmer.

The difference being, Arnold Palmer oozed charisma. Tiger Woods oozes only Tigerness.

Which is to say, at least in the public eye, he has the personality of a yard rake. Except when he's screaming obscenities on the golf course, his every public utterance sounds scripted to the last syllable. And his reputation for blowing off fans is well-established and contains numerous examples.

He is not, in other words, an especially warm human being. Or at least he isn't in public. And yet golf fans love him anyway.

For that reason, he is golf. Still. Now. As his career edges toward twilight.

Astounding. Simply astounding.