GOLF: POOR STEWART Cink, forever cast as golf's most maligned understudy. A few months ago the amiable American broke hearts by edging out Tom Watson to win the British Open and yesterday he was at it again, taking the place of Tiger Woods, who was elsewhere when the time came to take the stage for his scheduled pre-tournament press conference at the Chevron World Challenge.

Talk about an anti-climax. It was like turning up to a Beatles gig only to find they had been replaced by Gerry and the Pacemakers. It was like expecting the world’s most famous athlete to describe in detail a minor car crash that has somehow snowballed into a international accident only to find the world’s blandest golfer describe how he likes to tinker with his swing.

The satellite trucks that had been parked outside Sherwood Country Club early in the morning were long gone by the time Cink took the microphone. The hundreds of reporters who had been expected to fill the temporary media room never materialised, leaving the USPGA Tour regulars and the event organisers to tip-toe through the metaphorical wreckage of the past few days.

“We are totally supportive of Tiger’s decision to stay at home with his family,” said Greg McLaughlin, tournament director of the Chevron World Challenge. “He didn’t play in the event last year because of his knee injury and we had a very successful tournament. I’m sure that will be the case this year.”

Annually, this event raises an estimated €2.2 million for charity – all of which goes to the Tiger Woods Foundation – and there is no reason to believe it will fall short of McLaughlin’s expectations this time. Certainly, today’s pro-am, for which participants paid a minimum entry fee of $10,000 (€6,600), was sold out, and as of last night Woods’s withdrawal had not prompted a flood requests for refunds.

But if the tournament’s success is guaranteed – at least on its own terms – there is still plenty of rough to negotiate before the winner’s cheque is handed over on Sunday afternoon. Indeed, the words were barely out of McLaughlin’s mouth when the story that never ends kept on never ending, with Woods charged by the Florida Highway Patrol for careless driving and fined $164 (€109) with points against his driving licence, and American gossip magazine US Weekly reporting a cocktail waitress from Los Angeles had an alleged affair with the golfer and has the phone messages to prove it.

Over on the driving range at Sherwood, where Woods’s peers were getting ready for tomorrow’s opening round, these latest developments were greeted by the sound of jaws dropping and mouths clamping shut.

“I’m not going there,” said one of the world’s leading golfers who, like most people, could not resist the temptation to go there, albeit on condition of anonymity. “It is amazing to me that on a day that Barack Obama sends 34,000 extra troops to Afghanistan that the world is obsessed with this minor car crash.”

Professional golfers are often maligned for their supposed detachment from events in the real world so perhaps some credit is due in this instance. Less impressive, or at least more puzzling, was the timidity with which those around Sherwood yesterday tackled the subject of Woods and his problems. The explanation for this, in part at least, lies in the fact that professional golfers, like mafia dons, have an Omerta covering virtually every aspect of their lives. What happens on the golf course stays on the golf course - at least the controversial bits do - and same rule applies away from the links; only doubly so.

It is also the case that Woods is genuinely popular with his colleagues. He is also, it is worth noting, in a position to hand out the occasional favour to his friends. Entry to this week’s tournament is based on world ranking position, but the host is also able to hand out a couple of invitations – a not insubstantial favour given the prize fund to be shared amongst 18 players is $5.75 million (€3.8 million); $1.35 million (€900,000) to the winner and $150,000 (€100,000) for the last man.

Certainly, Ian Poulter could not have sounded more enthusiastic about being invited into Tiger’s exclusive club. “I’m buzzing to be here this week. I’ve never played in the tournament and there are world ranking points at stake,” the Englishman said.

Guardian Service