WTF! EA SPORTS DROPPED TIGER WOODS FACE FROM HIS OWN VIDEO GAME!

Tiger Woods is off his golf game – literally.

Woods' face has been dropped from the cover of the latest version of his best-selling video game, EA Sports' "Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters."

In a seemingly crafty bit of branding from the gamemaker -- which saw sales of last year's installment plummet in the wake of the golfing legend's infidelity scandal and subsequent break from the sport -- Woods' face has been replaced with a shot of the yellow flag of Augusta National Golf Club, the course that hosts the prestigious Masters tournament, which is the focus of the new version.

The golfing great isn't totally absent from the cover; he can be seen teeing off in the background of the image, clad in a blue golf shirt in place of his signature fiery red one.

Woods reportedly does appear on the PlayStation 3 Collector's Edition of the game, which costs $10 more and includes five additional courses.

EA Sports President Peter Moore said the choice to take Woods' face off the cover had nothing to do with the golfer's troubles.

"If the insinuation is it's a reflection of EA Sports backing away from its relationship that goes back literally 13 years with Tiger, that's not the case whatsoever," Moore said.

"You shouldn't read anything into the fact that Tiger's not featured on the box art of that particular edition," he said. "Tiger is right there on the PS3 version of the game with Move support, which was very good for us and Sony last year."

EA Sports has worked with Woods since 1999 on what was once a blockbuster title, but sales of the game fell off last year after reports he bedded dozens of strippers, porn starts, starlets – and at least one diner waitress – during his marriage to Swedish beauty Elin Nordegren.

Sales of last year's title, "Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11," plummeted almost 60% worldwide from 2009, according to several companies that track video game sales trends.

On that game, released after the scandal, EA appeared to be doing damage control by having Woods share the cover with Irish rookie Rory McIlroy.

Woods also did not do any media appearances to launch last year's game, unlike previous years.

Moore denied speculation then, saying McIlroy's presence on the box was meant to promote the game's Ryder Cup feature.

Woods' face, once used to tout a diverse array of products from razors to management consulting services, has become increasingly rare in the marketplace over the past two years.

Gillette, AT&T, Accenture and Gatorade dropped him as a sponsor, costing him tens of millions of dollars.

Nike and EA, though, stood by him.

Woods took an extended break from golf following the scandal but returned to play at last year's Masters.

He finished that tournament tied for fourth and, during the rest of the season, he displayed both brilliant flashes of his old self and rocky, inconsistent play.

The livelihood of the PGA Tour is based on Woods' performance, as network ratings typically fluctuate depending on whether or not he is playing well.

It's unlikely that, as the scandal fades and Woods continues to rehab his image, companies will continue to think of him as damaged goods.

"The thing about golf is the whole business is tied to Tiger," videogame analyst David Cole of DFC Intelligence told Reuters. "If Woods wins, viewership should increase. With the overall sport being so tied to Tiger, I don't see EA parting ways in the near future. However, you could be less likely to see a major emphasis on Tiger."


WTF! EA SPORTS DROPPED TIGER WOODS FACE FROM HIS OWN VIDEO GAME! IF THAT AINT A SMACK IN THE FACE! I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS! LOL!

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