Apart from the flash of inspired and gutsy brilliance that was his third US Open victory, the world of professional golf has struggled along minus Tiger Woods for all of three months now. So his continued and supposedly lengthy absence is nothing new, at least in a wider sense.

Photo: © Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images Despite not being at Birkdale this week the big question will be if Tiger Woods shadow will become the big news at the British Open

But this week at Royal Birkdale he will miss his first Grand Slam event since, as an amateur, he was ineligible for the 1996 USPGA Championship at Valhalla. For the first time in his professional career, one of golf’s four biggest tournaments will have to do without the man who is well on his way to becoming the best player the game has yet produced.

How this will impact on the 137th playing of the world’s oldest and most important championship remains to be seen, but – surprise, surprise – there is already a wide range of opinion on the subject.

“There is always some impact when Tiger doesn’t play in a tournament,” contends world number three, Adam Scott. “But that is less of a factor in a major than it would be in a regular tour event. The majors are so big in their own right. It certainly won’t make any difference to me. I know it won’t make the Open any easier to win. There are still going to be some guys playing great come Sunday.” That is true, an exciting championship and a memorable finish are still very possible, even with Tiger out of contention. As proof, I give you 12 months ago at Carnoustie. With the world number one languishing in a relatively distant 12th place, the rest took advantage.

And how.

Few if any who witnessed the spectacular final round played by the young Argentine, Andres Romero – his back-nine until the 18th contained only birdies and double bogeys - then the four-hole play-off between Padraig Harrington and Sergio Garcia will ever forget either. It was sensational stuff and no less so for the fact that the man who has finished first or second in ten of 1420majors since 2005 was for once not at or near the top of the leader board.

Still, you never know with golf, especially the inherently unpredictable version played by the seaside.

“I think the crowds will be down by 50 percent,” smiles agent, Andrew ‘Chubby’ Chandler, whose clients include Ernie Els, Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood. “I can’t see anyone watching on the telly with him not there.”

He was joking, of course.

Photo: © Richard Heathcote/Getty Images Chubby Chandler who manages players like Ernie Els feels that there will be very little impact on the British Open without Tiger Woods.

“Okay, to be serious, I don’t think there will be any real impact overall,” he continued. “But I do think Tiger’s absence will affect the top players more than anyone else. They will see it as an opportunity. The next level of player won’t consider that much; he really isn’t thinking about winning the tournament. But Adam Scott, Ernie, Lee, Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia will all be gearing up to winning. And the fact that the 2/1 favourite isn’t playing has to help them in that aim.

“I really feel that, when the gun goes off, no one will notice Tiger isn’t there. If the winner shoots 12 under par, no one will be saying, ‘well Tiger would have been 18 under.’ Golf doesn’t work like that. So we’ll never know.”

As for the substantial financial implications for the Open and, by extension, the R&A, Chandler, one of golf’s sharper operators, is, like Scott, confident that the event’s stature will be enough to ride out Tiger’s hopefully short-term break.

“There will be zero economic impact,” declares the International Sports Management owner. “I don’t think anyone who has bought tickets did so just to watch Tiger. So the Open will survive. It isn’t some run-of-the-mill PGA Tour event that relies on him to sell itself. At the Open he would have been the biggest show in town, but he would not have been the only show. Besides, most of the people there watching will be rooting for a British winner. That would still be the case even with Tiger in the field.”

Chandler’s optimistic view isn’t one shared by everyone, however.

“My mind goes back to the Players Championship earlier this year,” says swing coach Pete Cowen, who works with former World Match Play champion, Henrik Stenson. “There is a normally a real buzz about Sawgrass, but this time it was very flat - all because Tiger wasn’t there.

Photo: © Richard Heathcote/Getty Images Swing Guru Pete Cowen feels the British Open will be negatively impacted this week without Tiger Woods.

“Henrik played with Mickelson in the first two rounds. They teed off at about 8.30 on the opening morning and there can’t have been 300 people watching. It was so quiet.

“I think next week could be the same way. The Open is a great event, but they will miss Tiger. I have to think there will be fewer s pectators because Tiger is not there. Even non-golfers come for the thrill of seeing him. Now they won’t.

“People always say, ‘no sportsman is ever bigger than the game’ but I have to disagree. I think Tiger Woods is possibly bigger than the professional game. He’ll never be bigger than golf, but when an event is missing the greatest player in history it has to be flat. His absence will have a massive impact.”

Whatever view one takes on the extent to which one man – even Tiger – can make or break an event as big as the Open Championship, what is not in doubt is that the race for the Old Claret Jug is surely diminished by his unavailability. Certainly, US’s sports editors seem to be taking that view. Of the 90 American journalists accredited for Birkdale, only one in five is representing a newspaper.

“For the spectators on site and the millions watching on television it will be a disappointment,” confirms former Ryder Cup player, Ken Brown, who now works as a commentator for the BBC. “We in Britain don’t get that many chances to see the greatest golfer of all time in the flesh. For the players, there is an obvious upside from the fact that, for once, they don’t have to beat him.

“But, then again, the winner is always going to hear that ‘Tiger wasn’t in the field,’ at least in the short term. Five years from now, I’m not sure anyone will remember or care that much. So there should be no ‘asterisk’ against the champion’s name. In every sport there have always been events where, for whatever reason, the field has been less than its strongest. So the winner will still be the Open champion, no matter who is and isn’t playing.

“It is a shame though. If only because it is such a joy to watch Tiger play.”

So he’s going to be missed, to varying degrees depending on whom you talk to. Perhaps only one thing is for absolutely sure. The man who will mourn Tiger’s enforced absence most is the sad Australian who wagered just over $250,000 on him to win three of the four majors this year.

Ouch. That must have hurt – and not just in the left knee.