Sponsors need Tiger Woods's fires to burn bright

Sports marketing experts say the tournament for Woods could be the watershed of his professional career. Sponsors such as Nike and EA Sports have stuck by him with multi-million-dollar deals through the implosion of his personal life. Now they will demand evidence their man is still number one.

As a role model he is beyond repair so Woods is fighting to protect his image as an elite sportsman. Even the man he might be paired with, Steve Stricker, said tellingly: "He's trying to rebuild an image and I don't think that would be a good way to start."

Off the course Woods lost a reported $22 million (£13.8 million) in endorsements over the months after lurid headlines exposed his extra-marital affairs. On the course he arrived in Wales hanging onto his number one crown by his fingertips.

AT&T and Accenture dropped Tiger from their rosters of sponsorship, as did soft drinks company Gatorade. Others such as Gillette and Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer limited his role in their marketing.

By contrast Nike has stood by its man. It has no choice, having based its entire range of golf sportswear and equipment around him for the past 14 years in a deal said to be worth £25 million a year.

Likewise electronic games company EA Sports have backed him, but sports analysts warn their good will depends on Woods performing on the course. Joel Seymour-Hyde, a director at sports marketing consultancy Octagon, draws a parallel with another tabloid-troubled star — Wayne Rooney.

"For Nike and EA it's a massively performance driven sponsorship," he explains.

"They've always said, much like Wayne Rooney, what happens off the pitch is not our concern. We are a performance sports brand and we are interested in the eliteness' of our athletes. So there is an interesting challenge there. If Woods continues to underperform, even loses his number one ranking, and has a bad Ryder Cup; if he's moody and isn't a team player and is difficult, that could be problematic.

"And if Woods is fairly or unfairly associated with reasons why the US team lose then I think the questions will be raised by some of these brands who've kept with him because of the performance element. How long can you justify that if there's no performance?"

All this of course does present an opportunity for Woods. Should he raise his game at a time when his stock is lowest it will carry greater resonance.

Seymour-Hyde adds: "The other side of course is that this could be the epiphany where he recaptures his form and turns around on all those who've questioned him. It's kind of set up for it. You've seen Woods on his own in the plane and Rory McIlroy saying he wants to play Tiger. It's almost asking for that classic sports story of man on the ropes fighting back."

For Woods the Ryder Cup is the only frontier in the golfing world he has yet to conquer. His playing record: won 10, lost 13, halved two — isn't quite as stellar as the 14 major titles he has won as an individual.

Woods missed the Ryder Cup in 2008 at Valhalla because of a dodgy knee and it may have been no coincidence that America waltzed to victory — a happy and united band of brothers.

But David Smith, a sports analyst for Channel Five and a business writer, says Woods's difficulties could help him bond with his team mates.

"Usually coming into a Ryder Cup Woods is number one, virtually untouchable, living in a kind of ivory tower, like superman on another planet," he explains.

"I think it's been very difficult for other members of the team to relate to him. This time it's a different situation. He hasn't played well for months and been publicly humiliated. He's no longer superman and he hasn't qualified and as a captain's pick so he'll have to justify his selection. He owes it to the captain to give his best.

"Also Rory McIlroy has stirred up the competitive juices in him which you don't want to do with Tiger Woods. I expect Woods to perform."

So do his sponsors.