Updates: Business Of The Masters
CNBC Sports Business Reporter
Welcome to my Business of The Masters live blog. Throughout the day, I'll be providing you with all sorts of nuggets about the golf world's first major taking place in Augusta, Ga.
Check back here periodically for updates.
4:25 p.m. ET Tiger finishes 1 under par. Not horrific, but certainly not great.
It's pretty amazing that, out of the 253 votes we received on the poll below, that the most popular opinion — 22 percent — is that Tiger will never win another major. If that's the case, the PGA Tour is in for a rude awakening when it comes time to negotiate their TV rights at the end of this season.
A couple comments on the rest of the leaderboard.
Sergio Garcia could be an interesting boost if he finally gets it together and wins a major. The young guns Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler are always fun to watch. Would love to see a big win by a Japanese golfer (Hiroyuki Fujita, Ryo Ishikawa or Yuki Ikeda) given all their nation has gone through.
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3:32 p.m. ET: Some people are getting into the Masters tomorrow for around $400, which is a pretty amazing value. So does it have to do with corporate America staying away. Pat Ryan, co-owner of the Ticket Experience, says no way:
"Relative to the crash, something that the Masters and Super Bowl ticket is most similar to is a high end brand like Louis Vuitton or Gucci or Brioni suits. The articles in 2009 showed that those brands weren't suffering at all. It was more like the middle tier brands like the Polo and the Tommy Hilfiger and the Brooks Brothers were getting hurt because people were spending a little bit more carefully. The absolute most premium brands weren't suffering and they won't suffer. I put the Masters in that category. The businesses that are doing well and came out of that turmoil, they are doing very well. And for those companies, they're spending more than ever before on events like this."
3:12 p.m. ET: Let's do a sponsors roll call of leader Rory McElroy, who shot a 65 today. He has Dubai-based Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts on his hat and shirt. Oakley glasses, pants and a logo on his shirt collar. He plays with Titleist balls and clubs and plays in Footjoy shoes. Finally, he has the logo of watchmaker Audemars Piguet on his right sleeve.
2:13 p.m. ETTiger Woodsis at +1 through 11 holes, eight strokes off the lead.
