GREENSBORO, N.C. – For years Wyndham Championship tournament director Mark Brazil had envisioned the impact Tiger Woods could have on his event, but he never thought it would be this good.
For the week, attendance climbed to 143,000 fans, a modern tournament record, and peaked with crowds of 35,000 on Sunday fanned out across Sedgefield Country Club.
“It was a really big deal here,” Brazil said of Woods, who began the final round two shots back but faded on Sunday to finish tied for 10th place.
Tournament officials expected record television ratings as well, but for Brazil it was the throngs that packed the course that were a true measure of Woods’ impact.
“The best part about it is, without question, we have significantly more money this year for charity,” Brazil said. “I think we saw, basically, everything up 30 to 50 percent, whether that was concessions, clothing was maybe 60 percent up.”
