Tiger Woods Bad Week: Dumped By Sponsor, Loses Record To Golfer Suspended For Cocaine Addiction

Tiger Woods is having a week to forget.

The one-time top golfer in the world was dealt a blow off the course when he was dumped by a major sponsor, and given a bit of an insult on the links when his record fell to a golfer who’s currently on suspension for cocaine addiction.

This week, HSBC decided it would no longer pay Tiger Woods $3 million to show up to its January golf tournament in Abu Dhabi. Woods was once the main draw for the tournament, but Giles Morgan, HSBC’s global head of sponsorship, said Tiger was no longer necessary to make the event successful.

“Every top player in the world is welcome to play this event if they qualify and we would be delighted to have them here,” Morgan told the Guardian . “But we have moved beyond the point where we just need ‘a player’ to turn up to boost PR, gratification and media coverage. We are not interested in that, we are interested in genuine growth of the sport and I think we are sitting on a fantastic new chapter.”

Morgan has taken on Tiger Woods before. Last time, Woods took on a large appearance fee to play Rory McIlroy in an exhibition in China and skipped the HSBC tournament.

Morgan and HSBC were miffed by the snub.

“I just feel that this tournament [WGC-HSBC Champions] has an important role to take golf into an entirely different part of the world. It builds off the Olympic story in China and all the top players in the world have a responsibility, to an extent, to support it,” Morgan said. “Sponsors of our size deserve a modicum of respect for their investment.”

As if the lost revenue wasn’t enough, Tiger Woods also saw his Sherwood Country Club course record disappear to a controversial golfer. Dustin Johnson, who is currently on suspension from the PGA after a positive drug test for cocaine, shot a 61 on Tuesday, beating Tiger’s course record by a single stroke. Woods had held the record since 2007, and matched the mark again last year.