Tiger Woods demonstrates in Greensboro why he’s still PGA Tour’s No. 1 attraction

Tiger Woods may be yesterday’s news to fans ready for Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, and the next generation of golfers to depose of the former world No. 1 once and for all. Not so fast, Millennials.

Judging by the hordes of spectators lining up four-, five, 10-deep outside the ropes at the Wyndham Championship just to catch a fleeting glimpse of the 14-time major winner playing in Greensboro for the first time in his illustrious career, Woods’ appearance is a huge deal.

Which should prove to those who wonder why the 286th-ranked player, who still occupies the prime spot on the PGATour.com’s players website and whose every move news outlets worldwide continue to stalk, that Tiger Woods rightfully remains No. 1 when it comes to needle-moving.

Still not buying it? Well, the good folks of Greensboro are, to the tune of 49,000 extra tickets printed by Wyndham tourney organizers.

With reports that fans scarfed up more than 6,000 tickets for Thursday’s first round and with another 10,000 spectators expected to see how Tiger will back up his opening 6-under 64 on Friday, it’s clear that Woods is still the tour’s marquee player.

Enormous galleries are the norm for Woods, whether he’s playing in a pre-tourney pro-am, as he did with NBA star Chris Paul on Wednesday, or as a single as he did in the Memorial finale on his way to a last-place finish. Veteran Woods watchers with feet on the ground in North Carolina, though, say the buzz at the Wyndham is unlike any they have experienced.

Woods’ opening-rounds playing partner Brooks Koepka commented on the craziness that Tiger fueled with his improbable chip-in birdie on his first hole on Thursday.

“That was a loud roar,” Koepka said. “Haven’t heard one that loud in a long time.”

For sure, Woods was appreciative of the love the fans, many of whom are familiar to golfers who play Greensboro regularly, bestowed upon their hero.

“It was electric, especially early,” he said. “I love that about tournaments and I like this. Nice ballpark. People are great. Very close. It’s fun.”

Safe to say the fans in Greensboro are reveling in their close proximity to the past and possibly future greatness that Woods embodies, and they probably don’t care whether Tiger succeeds in this week’s last-ditch bid to make the postseason. But you can bet organizers of the four FedExCup games -- The Barclays, Deutsche Bank Championship, BMW Championship, and Tour Championship -- have fingers crossed that Woods makes it into the playoffs.

Even Woods’ competitors say they would like to see him extend his season.

“Everybody would love to see him playing in the playoffs,” Erik Compton said Thursday after firing a 62.

Why only 49,000 extra badges, by the way? Officials believed that was the max they could accommodate even as organizers, volunteers, and everyone involved with the tourney worked around the clock, according to Ron Mintz.

Unless he completely falls apart and misses his second straight cut after picking the track apart on Thursday, Woods should be attracting spectators in record numbers throughout the weekend.

“The Tiger factor is still very real,” tourney director Mark Brazil told Harig. “I’ve never seen it like this, lined up on both sides, several deep. Not even on a Sunday. There was a huge following at 7:50 in the morning, and it’s usually like a ghost town at that time.”

SB Nation video archives: Urban golfing with a U.S. Open champion (2012)