Just a few thoughts as this whole Tiger Woods thing continues to unfold:

…it’s interesting how little reporting on Tiger throughout this episode has come from golf writers. Such is the raw power of the PGA Tour and the star power of Tiger – no one wants to risk their ability to work his/her profession by dipping their toes in this controversy. Does anyone doubt that golf beat writers have, at the very least, heard whispers of Tiger’s – or others – er, interests, in their work but have refused to “go there” out of fear of their own interests?

…if I’m a PGA professional who has been, er, inclined to extra-marital daliances over my career I’m not sleeping too well these days. Anyone who thinks this is going to stop with Tiger is deluding themselves. This has the potential to blow up into a full-fledged PGA Tour scandal. Anyone who has ever bought the whole Tim Finchem / Golf Channel party line that everything associated with the PGA Tour is all pure and good is in for a rude awakening.

…you watch, as more women come forward and the media begins to pile on, Tiger will actually begin to emerge as a sympathetic character. But I won’t buy it.

…does anyone doubt Tiger is going to have quite the challenge keeping his poise with the galleries on tour throughout 2010?

…I think his run of lucrative endorsements is about over. There’s just no way he’s going to completely escape the tarnish of this whole episode. People, rightly or wrongly, saw Tiger as a handsome, talented good guy. Not sure how – if ever – he gets his reputation back.

…I still go back to my earlier comment. If Tiger wanted to see nude chicks, why not just hang around the VIP section of strip clubs? I don’t know much about them 🙂 but I hear you can have one helluva time at these places without violating the sanctity of one’s marriage.

One final thought: believe it or not, I’m not going to pile on Tiger here. I don’t know him, don’t know his situation, don’t believe it’s any of my business. Unfortunately, we live in a celebrity age that has to feed the 24/7 news cycle. And you can bet there will be no shortage of sleaze ball and scumbags who will come forward simply to make a buck or two off of Tiger’s misery.

That being said, celebrity is a two-edged sword: you can’t want to be seen as a role model and “out there” as a highly-paid spokesperson for highly-visible companies and products, then expect anything you might do “outside the ropes” be kept 100% private. Tiger buttered his bread, now he’s going to have to sleep in it.

Who knows where this will all lead?