and trading card and memorabilia company Upper Deck.
While spokesmen for Woods have not addressed his lost endorsement deals or whether new agreements are in the works, the golfer told a news conference on Monday that he understood why some sponsors had dropped him and hoped to show he would be profitable for those that remain.
"Hopefully I can prove to the other companies going forward that I am a worthy investment, that I can help their company grow," he told reporters in Augusta, Georgia.
A strong showing by Woods this week and going forward, as well as a scandal-free future, should mean a relatively quick rebound, analysts said.
"It's harder to be king of the hill, get knocked off and then get back up, than it is to climb your way up," said Marshal Cohen, analyst at market research firm NPD Group.
"But all it's going to take is for Tiger to play well and his value as a spokesperson for a product not only goes right back to where it was ... but even may increase."
NPD is updating a February poll that found while one-third of US consumers said their opinion of Woods had declined, most planned no change to their purchase behaviour based on the scandal. Cohen said the new results would be similar.
Cohen also said the blemished, more human Woods might even attract new types of sponsors he had not previously.
"Brands from Nike and EA Sports all the way through Accenture and AT&T clearly had to take a step back and distance themselves from Tiger," said John Haegele, chief executive of marketing firm Van Wagner Sports and Entertainment.
"If he wins, the timeline for people putting things in the past could accelerate a little bit."
LESS MONEY
In the short term, any new deals may be for less money and fewer years with companies whose products focus more directly on golf, analysts said.
However, a return to past dominance by Woods would surely lure blue-chip companies back over the next several years.
Certainly, the reputation of the world's first $1 billion athlete has been stained.
In the latest Davie Brown Index -- used by corporate clients to determine a celebrity's ability to influence consumers -- Woods's appeal ranked 2,398th, down from 96th before the scandal.
That puts him in the company of the likes of actor Gary Coleman and Fox News reporter and former talk show host Geraldo Rivera, compared with actor Matt Damon and late musician Frank Sinatra before the scandal.
Woods has even become a sort of punch line. The Boston Phoenix, an alternative weekly, just ranked him the most unsexy man on its annual top 100 list (http://thephoenix.com/).
Not all is bad news for the 14-times major winner, however.
In a Marist College poll released on Monday, 52 percent of Americans surveyed said Woods would be more of an attraction to the U.S. Masters, while 40 percent felt he would be more of a distraction.
The figure for self-described golf fans calling Woods an attraction rose to 58 percent.
Retailer Golfsmith International said sales of Tiger Woods-branded products, including hats, shirts, pants and belts, were up 8 percent from Oct. 1, 2009 through mid-March compared with the same period last year.
EA Sports is releasing the finished version of its online Tiger Woods golf game this week and still plans to roll out the next version of its Woods console videogame in June.
Upper Deck has begun selling a limited number of Woods-autographed items priced as much as $1,800, and will offer 25 autographed Masters Champion shirts at $2,000 apiece if he wins.
There also have been reports that Nike is filming a TV ad with Woods, although a company spokeswoman would not comment.
In the end, analysts agreed winning cures all.
"It's like the New York Yankees," NPD's Cohen said, referring to the popular baseball team. "You love to hate them, but then when they win everybody loves them again. Nothing breeds a following like success."
By Ben Klayman, Reuters