You and I, we're golf fans.  We like watching golf (and playing it) regardless of circumstances.  Good golf is good golf.  The name on the caddy bib doesn't dictate if it is interesting or not.

The problem is that most sports fans only care about two players - Tiger Woods and Michelle Wie.  Last week, when we were announcing Tiger's comeback at the Match Play, that story got more hits to it than any other in the history of Waggle Room.  (And that includes the post with Natalie Gulbis bikini pictures which like 10 people find a week.)

Jay Busbee linked to the post about Tiger then and did me a huge unsolicited favor by virtue of it.  His blog got a ton of traffic with Tiger's return and so did Waggle Room.

Now, he is looking into the reality of the mainstream popularity of golf.  It has boiled down to two players. 

His proof positive that Michelle "moves the meter" came from the ratings that the LPGA posted on their website today.

The three-day telecast by Golf Channel averaged 323,000 households, up 34% from the 2008 number. Final-round coverage drew 428,000 households, the fourth-largest audience for a single LPGA round on the channel ... [D]uring the week of the SBS Open, LPGA.com registered 5.2 million page views, up 55% from last year's event and the second-highest traffic since the site registered 6.1 million page views for the '06 Evian Masters, an event in which Wie finished tied for second.

Bottom line: people care about women's golf when Michelle Wie is in contention.  If she's not?  Then it's us watching.  That's totally ok for you and I because it makes no difference on our appreciation of the game.

The business side of the LPGA and PGA Tours feel differently, though. 

PGA Tour Commish Tim Finchem said he was "delighted" to have Tiger Woods back.  That's an understatement of the year candidate.  He did a backflip in his office.  He couldn't say "We're saved!" in a press release because it would offend the other guys.

LPGA Tour Commissioner Carolyn Bivens probably rolled around in a pile of $100 bills when she saw the ratings for the SBS Open.  The LPGA Tour benefitted from Michelle Wie getting her card and the growth of young, attractive players that hopefully will help the Tour grow.  I would bet, though, that Wie's presence sure did help entice Golf Channel's Page Thompson to pony up on some rights fees.

Like I said, these two players are a lot of fun to watch.  One is the greatest ever.  The other is a compelling figure.  (You figure out who's who.)  Still, it has to be discouraging to the people that cut and cash the checks that only two names seem to perk more ears than ours.