That’s the scary part here. What will golf do if Tiger is never the same? It seems ludicrous to even ponder, because he seems so invincible. Nobody on tour can slay him on the golf course. And even a painful knee couldn’t deter him from his fanatical quest to win another major last weekend.

But if he’s calling it quits for the rest of 2008, then the golf world has reason to be nervous.

Remember golf before Tiger? It was not accessible to the average fan. It was not the thing to watch on a Saturday or Sunday, other than for those who have the bug and live to exchange anecdotes about the rounds they recently played on their favorite munis.

I traveled last weekend and Tiger was everywhere. At every airport bar, patrons were transfixed, glued to the flat-screen televisions with their pristine images of verdant fairways and perfect greens. Travelers were conversing on cell phones about the latest Tiger development. People who probably knew only one name in golf — Tiger — were obsessed with it like a mantra.

That’s the power of his brand. That’s the ability he has to spread golf across mainstream America as well as the rest of the planet. His heroics are so wonderfully sick that they serve as a reminder of what people are capable of if they believe in themselves like Tiger believes.

Slideshow Family time Tiger Woods is blessed both on and off the golf course. NBCSports.com

Now the world won’t have that.

Hackers on local courses won’t be recounting Tiger’s latest mind-boggling birdies, because there won’t be any. Businessmen and women won’t have Tiger to discuss as an ice-breaker before meetings. Commercials with him in them will run, but they will only serve as reminders of how he once reigned, not how he still rules.

The majors won’t be the same, either. Tiger is after Jack Nicklaus, who has 18 majors. Tiger could have conceivably won both the British and the PGA. That would have brought him up to 16. That would have increased anticipation for 2009, when the unthinkable might have happened: Tiger becomes at least equal to the greatest ever with 18, and maybe surpasses him. And he could have done so at the age of 33.

Now, those plans are on hold, for who knows how long.

Obviously, the world will send its get-well wishes. And given what we know about Tiger, there stands an excellent chance for a full recovery. If determination is a key element in returning to peak form, Tiger not only will be back, he’ll be back early.

Still, there’s a queasiness today throughout golf. It’s a little like the feeling a golfer has when he blows a two-footer with the tournament title on the line. Only a lot worse.

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