The longer this Tiger Woods funk – perhaps we’re being too generous; is he done? – lingers, the more unwatchable golf becomes.

At the conclusion of the annual winter golf tournament called the Open Championship on Sunday, ESPN commentator Paul Azinger said he sincerely hoped that nobody back home was bored by the final round’s lack of drama … when it comes to American networks, they all get a little lost when Woods or Mickelson aren’t in contention.

Some guy named Oosthuizen won the Open; if you had heard of him prior to this weekend … well … uh … why?

After he seized the lead Friday, here’s what one columnist wrote about Oosthuizen: “… has as good a chance of holding the lead under the excruciating pressure of a major championship weekend as Woods’ marriage has of staying intact.” Woods finished 13 strokes behind Oosthuizen, who oozed confidence while Tiger cursed his putter.

With Mickelson and Tiger non-factors heading into Sunday, we imagine ratings will be abysmal.

The final major of the year will be in four weeks – the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin. (Only 2.5 hours from Madison; yes, some of the college kids will probably be trickling back to campus if Tiger’s looking for some fun.) If you’re wondering, Tiger has won the PGA four times, so there’s a decent chance he’ll snap out of his 1-for-9 skid in majors (last victory: US Open in 2008. Technically, he’s only one 1-of-the-last-11, but he missed two of those due to injury). His previous worst streak was from mid-2002 through 2004 when he went 0-for-12 in majors.

[photo: Getty]