No Tiger, no problem for PGA

ATLANTA, Georgia - The US PGA Tour has weathered the worst of the ongoing global economic struggles well despite a 22-month win drought for Tiger Woods, tour commissioner Tim Finchem said on Tuesday.

A new nine-year US television network deal announced three weeks ago should secure growth in prize money from the current level of about $280 million, well above the $80 million from 1997 when Woods won his first major at the Masters.

"I think we're in good shape," Finchem said. "We seem to have come through the worst of it in a way that allowed us either to replace or renew virtually 100 percent of what we have.