Tiger Woods’ Global Golf Plans Backfired After He Demanded $3 Million in Appearance Fee

For all his success in growing the game, Tiger Woods once learned that even his star power had its limits when a plan to conquer Australia backfired. It cost Australian taxpayers $3 million for a Tiger Woods experiment that, according to one golf legend, ‘changed nothing.’

Taking a stroll down memory lane, Woods decided to take some taxpayer-funded visits to the land Down Under back in 2009-12. The reason? To revive Australia’s struggling golf scene. With the attention that Woods can generate, hordes of fans flocked to the golf courses to catch a glimpse of the legend. Across three years, Woods’ visits to Sydney and Melbourne witnessed unprecedented levels of crowd engagement. Something the Australian golfing community hadn’t seen since Greg Norman was dominating the field in his prime.

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Unfortunately, Woods’ venture to bring back interest in golf in Australia turned out to be a huge flop. Speaking to Reuters in a 2012 interview, five-time British Open champion Peter Thompson explained how the scenario was quite a stalemate. “I think Tiger Woods’s impact was minimal barring the few days he was here,” Thompson said. “It cost heavily and it changed nothing, fundamentally. The tour still struggles to attract top players because we can’t afford the appearance fees.”

The appearance fee demanded by the American maestro was a whopping $3 million. And with Woods now gone, the crowds, too, have become quite sparse. For example, the 2012 Australian Masters was headlined by local star Adam Scott and Ian Poulter, the star from the Ryder Cup.

And sure enough, things looked pretty somber with the decrease in crowd turnout. Adding further context to the sorry state of affairs Down Under, Australian PGA CEO of 2012, Brian Thouburn, stated, “From an international perspective, on an annual basis we’re not going to get eight to 10 world top 20 ranked players down here. The competitive forces and opportunities in Asia and elsewhere and the long distance mean that it’s just impractical,” said Thouburn.

While Woods’ financial impact in the 2010s was debated, his on-course struggles in Australia began much earlier, with a shocking debut back in 1996 that humbled the future legend.

How Tiger Woods was shocked after his first round in Australia

The Australian PGA Championships and Australian Open are waiting to unfold on the soil of ‘Oz’. At the beginning of December, golf fans would witness Rory McIlroy tee off for the Australian Open, and on the other hand, names like Joaquin Niemann, Min Woo Lee, Adam Scott, and Cameron Smith would headline the American PGA Championships. But behind these updates, a new story has been revealed.

While the Aussie courses have indeed thrown challenges at the American legend, Woods has masterfully handled them all to create a strong record on Australian soil. But recently, Greg Norman has revealed why his Australian Open debut back in 1996 left him ‘shocked’.

Woods’ beginning shots in the Australian Open were a disaster. The first round saw him go seven over par 79. And the tournament ended for him at four over par, which indeed was a shocking result for Woods. And while the Australian Golf Club in Sydney kept on throwing challenges, Woods managed to end the event at T5.

Reflecting on what a toll it took on Woods, Norman shared, “We play very difficult courses here. [Woods] got a shock when he shot 79. Perhaps he will appreciate why Australians play so well when they leave home.” Woods was already struggling to pull off his best form as he was suffering from an illness.

Sharing the update on the same, Woods later shared after the tournament, “I could not get anything positive going. Physically and mentally, I made a lot of mistakes, and when you do that, you usually don’t win. I spent most of the time in bed, trying to get better (from a cold).” Woods further added how the week was extremely tough for him, and finally when the weather turned brighter, he felt as if he was “back in America.”

Why Tiger Woods has been proven completely wrong after his claim about Justin Thomas’ ‘bad’ golf in 2022

Tiger Woods and Justin Thomas are very close friends off the golf course, and they have always spoken very highly of one another.

Woods is obviously the standard bearer for all young players in the game today, Thomas included, having won 82 PGA Tour tournaments including 15 majors.

The 49-year-old obviously had something very special about him during his prime years.

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When Thomas burst onto the scene nearly a decade ago, he was mooted as someone who had the ability to challenge Woods’ dominance.

However, while he has achieved huge success in the game, it’s fair to say that he hasn’t quite reached the lofty heights that were expected of him.

Thomas has described Woods’ brilliance as ‘insane’ in the past, citing the sheer amount of incredibly difficult shots that the great man has pulled off.

However, perhaps Tiger’s best attribute was his ability to shoot decent scores when he was at his absolute worst.

Tiger Woods has been proven wrong after his Justin Thomas claim in 2022

Thomas recently underwent back surgery, just like Woods has done on numerous occasions in the past.

He’ll be hoping to bounce back next season and rediscover his best form after a fairly quiet three-year period on the PGA Tour.

In 2022, Thomas joined the exclusive club of players under the age of 30 who had won multiple major championships, The Players Championship and 15 or more PGA Tour events.

Woods commented on Thomas’ achievement, and highlighted how his fellow American had finally ‘learned how to play golf’.

“He is finally learning how to play golf on a daily basis, where his bad is actually pretty good,” Woods said of the 29-year-old Thomas. “That’s where you need to get to.”

Woods was alluding to the now 32-year-old’s ability to remain in contention and post solid scores even when he was playing badly.

Unfortunately for Thomas, though, that hasn’t been the case for him whatsoever over the past three years.

In fact, Thomas has only won one tournament since his PGA Championship victory in 2022.

And he has posted some truly horrendous scores since Woods talked him up so much three years ago.

Justin Thomas’ worst rounds since 2022

Since Woods’ comments on the 16-time PGA Tour winner, Thomas has posted rounds of 82 and 81 at The Open and the US Open respectively in 2023.

The American carded a round of eight-over-par 80 at the Memorial Tournament in 2025, while he shot rounds of 79 at the Valspar Championship and The Masters in 2024.

He also posted back-to-back rounds of 76 at Oakmont in the US Open this year.

Thomas’ bad golf has been particularly bad over the past few years, in stark contrast to what Woods claimed.

The key to winning regularly on the PGA Tour is the ability to turn a round of 74 into a 70.

Scottie Scheffler does this so well.

Tiger Woods did the same during his prime years, and Thomas needs to find a way to improve his scores when he’s playing badly, if he is to start racking up those victories once again.

If anything, not only has Thomas struggled to post solid rounds when he’s been nowhere near his best but he has also let plenty of good rounds go with poor finishes over the past few years – finishing seven-over-par for his final four holes at the Masters in 2024 being a prime example of that.

The two-time major champion would do well to read those old comments from Woods and use them as inspiration to get back to his best.

Tiger Woods’ withdrawal from the PNC Championship delivers a significant blow to a PGA Tour already facing declining audiences, amid injuries and a changing competitive landscape this season.

Emphasizing his central role in maintaining event visibility, concerns intensified after the South Korean pro, Byeong Hun An made comments about the 49-year-old legend’s stature.

“The views? It’s not changing unless Tiger is in contention these days,” Hun An said, highlighting reliance on his presence as younger audiences increasingly prefer shorter, digital-first golf content.

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The PNC Championship, scheduled for December 17-21, had expected Woods to draw family-focused attention as in past years, yet his seventh back surgery eliminated any realistic hope of participation.

That’s now raising worries about late-season ratings stability across the Tour as Justin Thomas’ withdrawal compounds the setback.

The two-time major champion confirmed a microdiscectomy to treat worsening hip issues, revealing that an MRI exposed disc damage requiring extended recovery, ruling him out of multiple key events.

“I had a successful microdiscectomy performed yesterday at Hospital for Special Surgery in NY…,” Thomas said, noting no tournament timeline exists and emphasizing patience to allow his disc to fully heal.

Thomas’ absence removes a core figure from the revived Skins Game, Hero World Challenge, and the PNC Championship, leaving each event without a recognizable presence capable of moderating the Tour’s ongoing struggle to sustain mainstream visibility.

With both Woods and Thomas absent from the PNC Championship, the event faces diminished appeal and symbolizes the Tour’s broader vulnerability, as sidelined star players leave uncertainty about the ability of upcoming tournaments to maintain audience engagement.

Can the Tour respond in time for the opening major of 2026? The Masters will take place from April 6-12 at Augusta National, and could set the trend for the PGA for the year with the likes of LIV golf lurking to capitalize on any slips.

PGA Tour continues to struggle: The numbers

Woods’ latest lumbar disc replacement represents a more severe intervention than previous procedures, signaling the extent of his physical limitations and reducing expectations for a sustained competitive return despite limited appearances earlier this year.

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His absence eliminates the event’s strongest promotional asset, as prior editions featuring Woodsand his son Charliedrew audiences far exceeding typical family-format exhibitions, helping sustain relevance during a period marked by declining traditional viewership.

Viewership declines show structural challenges. The Masters opened with 2.3 million viewers, a year-over-year drop, while the PGA Championship saw declines across all rounds, even with top contenders present, confirming limited resilience without Woods on the course.

Other tournaments suffered sharper losses, including the American Express, which experienced a 56% decline, reflecting a generational shift toward condensed, personality-driven YouTube golf content that contrasts with the Tour’s traditional multi-hour broadcasts.

As veterans confront age and physical decline, the Tour’s dependence on a shrinking pool of recognizable figures becomes more pronounced, raising urgent concerns about the sustainability of its viewership model absent a successor capable of sustaining broad-based interest.