On November 17th, ten days before his marriage-(and career?)-ruining car accident, Tiger Woods had no idea how the rest of his 2009 would play out. He was probably riding high, maybe enjoying his money and definitely giving an interview to New Zealand sports analyst Murray Deaker. Gossip Cop is reporting that although the interview was scheduled to air on Christmas day, because of um… unforeseen circumstances, the eight-minute clip aired today. And focused mostly on Tiger Woods: Family Man.

It’s the weekend, which means it’s time to separate the chumps from the champs in Mediaite’s “Winners and Losers” — our scorecard of who rocked and who flopped in the week’s headlines. I’d hoped something newsworthy — like an typhoon or solar flare or another boy-less balloon — might pop up midweek and eclipse the Tiger Woods saga as the world’s most-talked about story.

As much as the PGA Tour would like to sell you on the greatness of many of its players, the sport just isn’t as compelling without Tiger Woods. (Just look at how dreadful the television ratings were for the tournaments he missed during the time he took off to recover from knee surgery.)

For the Tour — and most of the sycophantic golf writers who cover him — a tabloid-fueled story of this magnitude puts many of them in an unenviable position. Especially when it comes to reporting the truth.