As Bubba Watson won his second green jacket in three years this past Sunday, many golf fans left the Augusta golf course with smiles on their faces. Watson, a fan favorite, shot a 69 in the final round to fend off 20-year-old Jordan Spieth and claim his second career major victory. Along the way, Bubba entertained the crowd with ridiculously long drives, sharp putting and risky shots. He even made a dinner trip to Waffle House to celebrate his win. But despite the entertainment provided by this year’s Masters, the number of viewers for the event was drastically lower than in years past. The reason for this? Tiger Woods’ absence.

It is hard to believe that 20 years have passed since The Masters was last played without Tiger Woods. Despite the fact that he hasn’t won a major since the 2008 U.S. Open and was at the center of a horrific scandal in 2009, Woods’ public draw is still seemingly as high as it once was. Evidence for this lies in TV viewership numbers. The first two days of ESPN’s 2014 Masters coverage yielded an average of 2.2 million viewers per day, or a 1.6 household rating. However, these numbers are significantly down from last year’s Masters (with Tiger), in which 3.5 million viewers tuned in on average for the first two days, yielding a 2.5 household rating.

The numbers are certainly no coincidence. Even in years past, TV ratings for the final day of the tournament were largely impacted by Woods’ level of play. Since 1996, when Woods has been within five shots of the lead, an average of 1.2 million additional viewers have tuned in on Sundays in comparison to when he has been out of the race. That’s a 10-percent increase over Sundays in which he is far behind.

 

Television ratings aren’t the only area in which “the Tiger Effect” impacted the 2014 Masters, however. In less than 24 hours following the announcement of Woods’ withdrawal, online ticket resale company Stubhub featured a 22.5% percent drop in one-day ticket badges for the opening day of the tournament. Tickets originally priced at $1,200 fell to $930, and even the pre-withdrawal prices of $1200 were already reduced from first-day prices in 2013—which were around $1350—due to speculation that Woods might not be able to play.

 

What has become clear from all of this is that there are really two types of golf spectators: fans of the game, and fans of Tiger Woods. Fans of golf, while acknowledging the greatness of Tiger that captivated so many of us for years, are more interested in the competition and tradition that a tournament like the Masters brings, regardless of who is in the field. Tiger fans, on the other hand, are far more interested in a tournament if there is a chance of a Woods victory.

The divide between golf fans and Tiger fans has been more defined since the scandal regarding Woods’ infidelity went public. Already having been criticized for his disrespect (cussing, spitting, throwing clubs) of the game of golf on multiple occasions, the 2009 scandal resulted in the shaming and mocking of Woods in the public eye, and he decided to take a short break from golf. He most certainly lost quite a few fans because of his actions, and even when he came back, those who were loyal to him found themselves feeling mixed emotions about his return to the game. However, even though Tiger was now “the bad guy” to many, his viewership popularity remained intact, if not increased. Many people rooting against Tiger Woods as a person were strangely rooting for Tiger Woods as a golfer. At the very least, it was an interesting storyline to see how Woods would respond after what had happened.

However, since the scandal, Woods has yet to win a major. Something is clearly not right about his game; it is as though he has lost his mojo. The hope that Woods will regain his prime form and challenge Jack Nicklaus’ PGA career record of 18 majors becomes dimmer each time a major passes without him at the top of the leaderboard. And, in the golf world, at 38 years of age, he is closer to old than young.

 

True golf fans appreciate what Tiger has done for the game, but understand that golf is a game with a rich tradition. They understand that golf lives on with or without Tiger Woods, and that there is no sense in waiting up for him to regain his old form while other players like Bubba, Rory Mcllory, Phil Mickelson and many others perform at a high level. They know that there is a solid group of young players gaining momentum, and that the future is bright for the game. And yet, there is something about Tiger’s greatness and electricity that still draws in viewers like no one else. There remains a giant audience for the golfer that once was. Many fans hope that he can return to his dominant form and win a slew of majors, with classic Tiger fist-pump moments along the way. But as Woods recovers from yet another injury, and the reality that he may never be great again looms large, the true fans of the game hope that golf can continue to thrive without one of the most popular and dominant figures the sport has ever seen. And if the 2014 Masters is any indication, there is going to be quite an adjustment when that time comes.

You can reach Ben Albert here or follow him on Twitter.