Genuine question. When Tiger was shooting 80 and ranked about 200th, why did nobody ever say a word about him being in two dozen commercials a day during tournaments? To me its because Rickie is an easy target.
But to answer your question lol....
It’s because tiger can do no wrong in some peoples eyes and people were more than happy to go along with the “it’s all the back injuries” narrative to preserve the idea that tiger is untouchable