Sometimes rejection can be a good thing.  Tiger Woods, who won 13 of his 14 major championships using a Scotty Cameron putter, suddenly ditched his old friend for the British Open.  The result was a disaster.

He didn’t practice much with his Nike prototype and and the results were about what you might expect, especially considering where he stands as a whole right now.

Woods went back to the Cameron putter before the weekend was out and even made a couple of nice putts early Sunday with it, but the damage was done.  Tiger is now winless in his last seven majors but it’s pretty clear that it ain’t the putter’s fault.

The news that Tiger was going back to his Cameron made headlines all over the world as reporters and columnists looked to explain his continued lack of major championship success.  Why would he switch?  More money?  Just a gut feeling?  Tired of the same thing and looking for something new (that type of thinking turned out to be a BIG mistake late last year)?

Who knows.

We do know that Cameron’s company comes out of this:  1) looking like a hero and 2) the recipient of a huge does of free publicity.

Cameron’s clubs are hugely popular and so are his designer head covers.  In fact, the British Open models that pay homage to Scotland are selling like hotcakes, with the few that have made their way to eBay selling like hotcakes.

Overall, there are 2600+ Cameron items on eBay and after the Tiger talk this week, they’re going fast.

Upper Deck Company, one of the few that stood behind the world’s most famous golfer, will offer a series of new Tiger Woods signature items as Woods returns from what UD is calling “a 144-day hiatus”…as a strange new Nike commercial featuring Tiger and his late father hits the air.

To coincide with Tiger’s quest for a fifth green jacket from Augusta, Upper Deck Authenticated (UDA) – the company’s memorabilia division–will unveil new autographed items , many of which commemorate this week’s arrival of the four-time Masters champion.

“We’re extremely excited to showcase these five latest products celebrating Tiger’s return to the PGA Tour,” said Richard McWilliam, Upper Deck’s CEO and Founder. “We wish him well this week as we’ve put together some pretty compelling items that we’re confident collectors will no doubt cherish for years to come.”

Woods has served as an exclusive autograph signer for UDA since 2001 and remains one of Upper Deck’s best-selling athletes of all-time. The five new Tiger Woods signature that will be going on sale shortly include: 1.) Curved Display Case with Range-Driven Golf Ball and Autograph Label (limited to 50), $699.99; 2.) Curved Display Case with Range-Driven Golf Ball and Unsigned Photo (limited to 50), $199.99; 3.) Autographed Black TW Tour Flex Cap, same style worn by Tiger (limited to 100), $999.99; 4.) Autographed Air Zoom TW 2010 Golf Cleats, Black/Gunmetal, Size 11 (limited to 50), $1,399.99; and 5.) Autographed Carmine Dri-Fit Polo Shirt (limited to 100), $1,799.99.

Nike unveiled a new TV ad featuring a static image of Tiger staring into the camera while edited clips of his late father Earl play.  In the video released on You Tube, Earl Woods appears to be asking Woods about his sex scandal.  It’s a little like a Saturday Night Live skit about weird TV shows.

He’s been one of the most famous athletes in the world for over a decade.  There’s no hiding if you’re Tiger Woods. 

Until November of 2009, though, Tiger could still hide –at least a little–from those carrying cameras.  Off the golf course, he wasn’t considered that exciting.

Married guy.

Kids.

Totally devoted to his sport.

Workout freak.

If you’re a tabloid media outlet…a TMZ.com or a member of the paparazzi…Tiger was not #1 on your list of must follow celebs.

He is now.

Tiger never faced much difficulty dealing with the sports media.  He rarely let anyone get too deep anyway. 

The ‘other’ media will be a different story.  They don’t play by normal journalistic rules.  They show up in places you don’t expect, nowhere near your workplace.  Looking to see what he’s up to.

Ready to record it.

Tiger will likely have a security detail now.  Before he could slip in and out of a club with a couple of friends and not worry that much.  Those days are over. 

Unless he’s ready to become a complete hermit, you’ll see his picture pop up everywhere once he goes back on tour.  He’ll be followed.  He’ll be photographed.  He’ll get tired of it.

Golf?  He can do that.  Shake the rust off and chase majors.  Practice.  Practice. Practice.

It’s the other stuff that has the potential to beat him.

Their chances of winning tournaments are better without him, but it’s clear the players on the PGA Tour would much rather have Tiger Woods in the field Thursday through Sunday.

At this weekend’s tour stop, Tiger’s statement on Friday was a big topic of conversation.  Many have reached into their bags and pulled out the ‘no comment’ club.  A few others offer milquetoast responses to reporters’ questions.  They’re tired of talking about it and really, what can they say?  Passing judgment in public likely wouldn’t be well accepted by some.

It would be nice to see more players offer up some thoughtful responses on the whole subject because it has so many tentacles that affect the tour, pro sports and society.  Did Tiger pull the wool over our eyes by letting his marketers form this ‘determined family man’ image?  Is he a victim of too much success too soon?  Few of his PGA Tour colleagues are willing to even share their opinions.

Here’s what they were saying this week:

No doubt, the players probably lay a lot of the blame for what could be a very soft season squarely on Tiger. There are other stars playing pro golf, but Woods is such a mega force that a lot of people dismiss the Tour without him as if a win doesn’t really count if Tiger isn’t in the field. The Tour needs him and it doesn’t sound like he’s anywhere ready to come back. Tiger and “the rest of the field” are joined at the hip, for better or worse. They say they’ll be patient and wait for him, but the circus that will ensue once he does come back isn’t something the “field” deserves.

This would be a Tiger moment.  Except Tiger’s not here.  While golf’s top player attempts to exorcise whatever carnal demons have overtaken his senses, Phil Mickelson is facing talk of cheating for doing some exorcising of his own.

Lefty has taken a loophole in the rulebook and created a firestorm.

The USGA’s ban on square grooved clubs started January 1 but an old lawsuit grandfathered the Ping Eye 2 club in.  It’s totally legal but some of Mickelson’s fellow pros like Rocco Mediate and Scott McCarron say they’re “appalled” and that packing the Ping is “against the spirit of the rule”.

WWTD (what would Tiger do) if he were in Lefty’s big shoes?

He’d stick the club back in the bag (or toss it in the ocean), fix the steely eyed glare and whip those also-rans by a dozen strokes come Sunday.   “You think I need square grooves to beat you?” he’d say to himself.  “I could beat you with a Persimmon driver and a bamboo shaft putter.”

So with Tiger on the sidelines, here’s Lefty’s chance to take over the mantel.  Debate all day whether using the Ping Eye is the right thing to do.  Mickelson just proved himself a little smarter than a lot of the other guys who didn’t realize they could use a club from the post-Reagan years.  Maybe he’s just a smart aleck for using it.  I don’t care.

But Mickelson has a chance to make a major three-word statement this weekend.

“Square Groove This”.

AT&T said Happy Birthday to Tiger Woods by ending Woods’ endorsement deal.  The embattled golfer turned 34 on Wednesday, and is wrapping up a year he’d just as soon forget.

Woods hasn’t been used much by the phone company in advertising, but its logo was on Woods’ golf bag, a multi-year deal signed earlier this year.

AT&T, which is based in Dallas, offered the usual “we wish him well” in a statement emailed to Bloomberg News regarding its decision to sever ties.

When contacted by AP, Woods’ agent, Mark Steinberg, had no comment on AT&T’s decision.

Woods admitted martial infidelity is costing him millions of dollars, even though some companies continue to back him.  Consulting firm Accenture dropped him two weeks ago, saying he was “no longer the right representative” for them.  Gillette isn’t airing Tiger ads or using him in its shaving product advertising. Swiss watch maker Tag Heuer is pulling back its use of Woods’ image in its campagins.

Electronic Arts Inc., which puts out the “Tiger Woods PGA Tour” series of golf video games, hasn’t pulled the plug.  Upper Deck has kept its autograph deal going and Nike has said it plans to stick with Woods.

Latest Tiger Woods Update:  Tiger Woods says he is “taking an indefinite leave” from golf and for the first time mentioned the word “infidelity”.  In a post on his website, Woods said he would concentrate instead on being a “better husband, father and person”.  That would seem to mean wife Elin has not yet decided to leave him despite the statements of multiple women who say they had affairs or relationships with him during his marriage.

The embattled star’s apology meter did climb a bit since his last missive in which he railed against the tabloids and begged for everyone to leave him alone.

Woods has yet to speak about his car accident or anything else associated with the ongoing saga that has created a firestorm once thought to be much ado about nothing.

Woods’ statement:

“I am deeply aware of the disappointment and hurt that my infidelity has caused to so many people, most of all my wife and children. I want to say again to everyone that I am profoundly sorry and that I ask forgiveness. It may not be possible to repair the damage I’ve done, but I want to do my best to try.

I would like to ask everyone, including my fans, the good people at my foundation, business partners, the PGA Tour, and my fellow competitors, for their understanding. What’s most important now is that my family has the time, privacy, and safe haven we will need for personal healing.

After much soul searching, I have decided to take an indefinite break from professional golf. I need to focus my attention on being a better husband, father, and person.

Again, I ask for privacy for my family and I am especially grateful for all those who have offered compassion and concern during this difficult period.

It probably isn’t surprising to hear that Tiger Woods has no interest in meeting with the Florida State Patrol.  It probably isn’t surprising that he chose his own website to make a short, non-revealing statement about his mysterious 2:30 AM car crash on his website rather than speak to his fans through the media.

When it comes to being in the public eye, Tiger does what he has to do.  No more.

The fiery competitor stuff is fine, but we like our athletes when they’re willing to share a little of themselves–in good times and bad.  What Tiger fails to realize is that the less he speaks, the more the public demands answers.  The less you talk, the more people want you to. This whole thing isn’t going to go away forever, no matter how much Tiger thinks it will by labeling it a “private matter”.  Is there a Tiger Woods mistress?  There have been denials from a woman in question, but nothing from Tiger other than a protestation against “false, unfounded and malicious rumors”.  If there’s nothing to hide, then, why is he hiding?

You could make the argument that no one is entitled to answers about why the tabloids have been full of rumors about Woods.  It’s personal.  Something between a married couple.   Or, you could take the slightly more enlightened view that unlike most married guys, Woods makes millions of dollars each month because people pay to watch him play golf live and on TV.  They pay to buy the products he endorses.  They pay for his autograph through his exclusive arrangement with Upper Deck Company.  They chase his memorabilia on eBay.  They buy his video games.  They pay to hear him speak and give clinics.  it’s part of the reason why he doesn’t want to reveal too much.  There’s too much at stake.  Yet you can’t take the rewards of being a pro athlete and refuse to deal with the other, less financially rewarding stuff that goes along with it.

Apparently, his agents and handlers– the very people he’s consulting with about how to react in the wake of the intense scrutiny after he ko’d a fire hydrant and gave a neighbor’s tree an uppercut– don’t seem to get it.  By refusing to divulge more details about the wreck, he’s hurting his public image.   If Tiger and his wife were fighting, he should admit it.  Hey, it happens.  Usually at weird hours.  We all do stupid things…and at least he’s sort of admitted that.  If it was just a case of poor driving, admit that too.   But say enough to answer at least some of the questions.  Because if you don’t, at some point people don’t know what to believe.

And then they’ll find someone else they can believe in.

While some sports seem a little stagnant in terms of growth in the collectible market, golf continues to grow at a steady pace. The simple and quiet sport has motivated a lot of people to do just more than tee it up. Collecting golf memorabilia can range from antique clubs and balls to signed trading cards pulled from packs in recent years. Some golf collectors see their stash as art.

One way of preserving the rich history and progress of a sport such as golf is to actually paint out visuals that can tell its stories as well as that of the people behind its success. This is why golf art is enjoying popularity in the ranks of golf collectibles. The person having such in his grasp can truly feel the passion within every picture displayed. Tiger Woods has been the focus of more golf art in his relatively short career than perhaps any player in history.

A golf gallery can be produced using the traditional golf collectibles of clubs and balls. These items can then be paired up with elegant and antique golf photos of both tournament highlights and the courses on which sport is played. There can also be prints of players in their most intense features or simply during their humane times of smiles and laughter. Enthusiasts have the privilege to put up a stage wherein the game becomes alive. This can be spiced up and brought to a notch higher by adding golf murals and designs that will perfectly slate the person’s golfing identity.

It was new territory for Tiger Woods and maybe he didn’t know the protocol.

After losing a lead on Sunday for the first time in 36 events, Tiger decided not stop and chat with CBS.  He’d lost the PGA Championship despite leading by four shots after the second round and by two coming into the final eighteen holes.  It wasn’t Tiger’s best moment and he’ll have to wait through another long winter before chasing his 15th major next spring at the Masters.   But make no mistake.  Tiger didn’t lose it.  He flat out got beat.

Y.E. Yang, a 5-foot-9 dynamo from South Korea who began playing at age 19 and then served time in his country’s military, out-Tigered Tiger.  Major championships are won with consistency, but also with memorable shots that create separation.  Sunday, Yang got Tiger by the tail with a spine-tingling chip in on the 14th hole at Hazeltine.  Then he yanked on it with an exclamation point putt at 18, creating history on multiple fronts:  first Asian-born golfer to win a major.  First man to take Tiger down on Sunday since the modern day king of golf turned pro.

Woods was game, but his putting stroke was off.  He seemed unable to read a green this time.  Still, he was in it until 18.    On Sundays, no one had been able to stare him down until Yang did.  His win gives hope to others who duel with Tiger from here on out.

The mojo may not be gone, but it’s softened a bit.
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PGA memorabilia on eBay