As if they didn’t have enough worries, organizers of the former Buick Invitational golf tournament, who are without a principal sponsor, will now be without the sport’s top ambassador: Tiger Woods.

The 11-time participant and six-time winner of the Torrey Pines tournament (scheduled for January 23-31) is taking an indefinite leave of absence from golf to work on his marriage, following an apparent string of marital infidelities.

Tiger Woods won't be at the San Diego Open.

Photo by Brevin Blach

The move takes away the tournament’s proverbial trump card to offer potential sponsors those large crowds and TV ratings that follow Woods. Tournament attendance suffered last year after Woods took time off from golf to rehabilitate his surgically repaired knee.

“Attendance was down last year, and obviously television numbers are down anytime Tiger doesn’t play,” said Rick Schloss, public relations manager for the nonprofit Century Club of San Diego that organizes the tournament. “He’s played here a long time.”

Buick bowed out as event sponsor this summer following the bankruptcy filing of parent company General Motors. Tournament organizers have been working with the PGA Tour to court a new suitor, but so far without success.

The tournament will apparently go on regardless. It’s listed as the San Diego Open on the PGA Tour schedule. Pro-Am spots and hospitality sales are continuing as usual at the offices of the Century Club. However, the assumption is that Woods will not participate, which means the tournament, along with the rest of professional golf, will be a smaller draw.

“There are huge crowds when Tiger is playing there," says Schloss. "Hopefully he’ll come back when he gets everything taken care of.”

Typically, with sunny weather and Woods on the scorecard, Schloss said the tournament draws 150,000 people over the weekend.

San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau spokesman Steve Schell said the tournament not only fills hotel rooms with golfers, sponsors and attendees, but it’s a great promotional piece for San Diego.

“Imagine sitting back in snowy, cold Cleveland watching the tournament in San Diego,” he says. “Wouldn’t you want to come here or bring a meeting here?”

Woods public relations nightmare began November 27 when he crashed his SUV into a fire hydrant and tree near his Florida home during an altercation with his wife.

Since then, dozens of women have come forward claiming to have had a relationship with the 33-year-old golfer. Longtime sponsor Accenture Ltd. was the first to drop its relationship with Woods. Gillette has pulled advertisements featuring Woods, and AT&T has said it's evaluating its relationship with the golfer.