Last year, when Woods skipped The Barclays, the tournament was whipped in the ratings by the Little League World Series, televised on a cable outlet, ESPN. He acknowledged that was hard to stomach.
"I think if we don't see a change, we'll be disappointed," Diamond said. "We'll see."
Based on the broadcast data since Woods was sent to the sideline with a knee injury in June, it seems darn likely the ratings will take another beating in the FedEx Series. Even the Nielsens at the final two major championships of the year were down without Woods in the field. Generally speaking, stellar fields or not, golf fans have watched while sidewalk sports fans have not.
Whether Woods will be around at Liberty National next year, nobody can predict. On that front, Diamond said he's hugely in favor of building in an off-week during the month-long FedEx Cup series run in 2009 and beyond, which would entice more players to compete in all four events.
"My own personal view is that we need a break in there somewhere,"' he said.
Finchem acknowledged three weeks ago that the tour is keeping a close eye on the ailing financial sector, which accounts for a huge portion of the tournament title sponsorship on various world tours. Diamond said questions have been raised within his organization about spending millions annually on golf sponsorship -- Barclays also has its name emblazoned on tournaments in Hong Kong and Scotland -- and determined it's a very viable form of advertisement, especially one seeking a bigger foothold in the States.
"You can't build a brand in a year or two," he said. "We are picking up market share. As a British-based organization, this has been a real opportunity for us. As hard as this is, it's been an opportunity for us."
