The golf world will undoubtedly feel the impact of the decision by its biggest cash cow, Tiger Woods, to sit out for the remainder of the year due to injury.

Citing a torn ligament in his left knee, Woods made the decision just two days after a dramatic victory against Rocco Mediate at the U.S. Open in front of millions of fans. It was his 14th victory in a major tournament.

The injury will likely have a negative financial impact on the PGA, television networks and even some of the many companies like Nike (NKE) that sponsor Woods.

“You can’t hide from the fact that Tiger casts a very long and historically incredible shadow over the sport. Without him, golf will struggle to keep the interest from this weekend,” said David Carter, sports business consultant and professor at the University of Southern California.

While any sport suffers when a star goes down, the magnitude of Woods’ absence is expected to be far greater because of the enormous attention he draws.

“If Kobe goes down, the Lakers still field five guys. If Tiger goes down there’s no other Tiger in the field. There’s just no substitute for him. And that’s reflected in the potential softness in the sport’s interest until he returns,” said Carter.

Woods has had a huge impact on golf for several years with what some experts call the “Tiger Effect.” When he’s known to be in a tournament and competes strongly, audiences tune in to watch him on television and fans are more likely to head to the course to watch in person.

Steve Dennis, the PGA Tour’s senior director of communications, recently told the L.A. Times that when Woods plays in the bigger tournaments and finishes in the top five, Sunday afternoon television ratings average 4.3. Without him, ratings fall 26% to 3.4.

“I think every tournament director that Tiger had committed to playing in is cringing at the moment because it affects everything,” said Steve Rosner, partner and founder of 16W, a New Jersey-based sports marketing firm.

The tournament directors won't be alone in cringing as television networks may feel the negative side to the Tiger Effect as well. Woods won't be competing in the remaining two majors of the year: the British Open in July and the PGA Championship in August. Both events were to be televised by both Time Warner’s (TWX) TNT and CBS (CBS). It will be the first time in his career that he’ll miss a major.

Experts said they don’t expect golf fans to tune out completely just because Woods won’t be showing off his skills on national television.

“I think your hardcore golf fan will continue to watch. But in any sport, the difference between good ratings and great ratings is about what additional viewers you can get aboard….[Without Woods] you probably won’t get the casual fan,” said Rosner.

In addition to what’s likely to be lower television ratings for these major events, Rosner said there’s the potential for less revenue in terms of attendance, merchandising and even parking. “It affects everything you can think of as far as generating revenue,” he said.

There’s also a series of mid-level tournaments that Woods will now have to miss, including the Ryder Cup, which pits some of the America’s best golfers against Europe’s elite.

“I admire Tiger as a person, player and fan. This should not be about Tiger and the Ryder Cup now. This is about Tiger’s health and well-being and his march to history,” said U. S. Ryder Cup Captain Paul Azinger in a statement.

In some ways the revelation that Woods needs surgery to deal with his knee, which he hurt 10 months ago, only adds to the legend of the great golfer. He was in noticeable pain as he played at Torrey Pines in California over the weekend, but managed to squeak out a narrow victory in dramatic fashion. 

“Prevailing in the national championship is tough even when fully healthy. What we all witnessed over the past week was an incredibly gutsy performance by an amazing athlete,” Nike Golf said in a statement.

Rosner said there is a chance that some of Woods’ sponsors could have clauses in their contracts that could cut his payout if he doesn’t’ appear in enough events. He said that it would likely be optional for sponsors to invoke such a clause. 

“As we said, it goes without saying that the temporary absence of an athlete with Tiger’s vast influence will be felt at all levels throughout the game. With that said, Tiger’s enduring impact on the Nike brand and business is so enormous that it resonates positively even when he’s not competing,” said Nike Golf.

Carter said he doesn't think the negative effect of the injury will be felt as much by the sponsors as it will be by the sport. 

“He may be less exposed to the general public but I think they will find other ways to feature him in advertising and promotions. It’s not going to be a case of out of sight or out of mind,” said Carter.

In some ways, Carter said, Woods’ sponsors may be able to capitalize on the tale of his win with a serious injury and on an eventual comeback.

“There’s a compelling story there that will add to his legacy as he comes back and those firms will have a great story to tell,” said Carter.