“I think one, it takes time,” Woods said. “And two, it’s about building a bigger base and having more kids. Like I said, it’s a pyramid effect. The more you go through junior golf locally to the state, to national, then to amateur, collegiate, mini-tours, pro, then eventually out here, you’re just dwindling it down.”

According to a study by the National Golf Foundation, there were 1.3 million adult black golfers in 2003, which would equal about 3 percent of all adult players. More difficult to gauge is the number of young black players being brought into the fold, and how many are devoting themselves to the game, whether through First Tee, a local course or a private club.

What is certain is that because blacks are, on average, poorer than whites — according to a study by the National Urban League, among others — they don’t have as much access to golf, whether through country clubs, public courses and driving ranges or professional instruction. Those are the traditional ways kids get introduced to the game.

“I used to think, and naively, 15 years ago that the challenge was access,” PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said. “But I learned that’s only half of it. The other half is interest. ... Now we have one role model among African-Americans, although Tiger is multiracial. But access in our game, you can’t do it overnight. You’ve got to build on it.”

Beyond getting kids interested, there’s the issue of supporting up-and-coming players once they try to go pro.

“Let’s say a kid’s good, he goes to college, he gets out of college, but he might not be quite ready to take the next step,” O’Neal said. “But he needs time. Maybe he wants to play a mini tour to get to Q-school. You need $70,000 a year to do that. And if you don’t have that, you’re out of luck. If you don’t have the financial backing, it’s not going to happen.”

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Access, interest, money. Those are the same issues that have bogged down the quest for minority representation in NASCAR for decades and are now starting to infiltrate baseball, as well, where the number of blacks is dwindling.

Neither of those sports, however, has a black icon such as Woods. A Harris Poll from last summer said Woods was America’s favorite sports star. He comes off as wholesome, rarely outspoken or controversial. He’s a winner who has transformed his sport.

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“He’s brought it to completely new levels,” said Thomas Bjorn. “Everything that happens in the game comes down to what he’s done.”

So, the question becomes — if other blacks aren’t breaking through now, then when?

“It is sad,” O’Neal said. “But that’s the nature of how golf is. It all comes down to finances.”

McDaniel agrees.

“We’ve made incremental steps at progress, but that’s all we’ve done,” he said. “In the last 10 years, as far as the professional game is concerned, we’ve actually gone backward. It’s shameful.”

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