Tiger Woods, shotmaker supreme, is quickly becoming the ultimate kingmaker. Thailand's Thaksin Shinawatra, a telecoms tycoon and leader of the Thai Rak Thai political party, has reportedly bankrolled Woods' appearance at this week's Johnnie Walker Classic in Bangkok.
In return for his US$1 million outlay, Thaksin will be pictured with the sports superstar at various functions just a few weeks ahead of a general election, which he is favoured to win. Some happy snaps with Woods, who is huge in his mother's homeland, will do Thaksin a power of good with the electorate.
There is the small matter that Thaksin is not the registered owner of the Alpine Golf & Sports Club where the Classic is being staged, with Thai newspapers reporting that the shares had been transferred to members of his domestic staff, but that's unlikely to stop the garrulous billionaire from glad-handing Woods.
Woods is aware his name and image can open doors, and influence decisions, but there are times when he cannot stop the hijacking of his celebrity.
The team bidding to bring the 2009 Ryder Cup to Scotland is all but touting Woods as one of its supporters although the world number one has nothing whatsoever to do with the campaign.
The Scots have seized on a Woods comment that he would 'love to play in a Ryder Cup in Scotland, that would be a fantastic thing to do' and are using it as an endorsement. Cheekily, they have also trumpeted the fact that two Scottish youngsters were invited to a clinic for hundreds of kids which the American gave in London's Hyde Park on Monday as 'Tiger Woods' support for core element of Scotland's Ryder Cup initiative'. The 'core element' being that every child in Scotland will be introduced to golf before they reach nine years old. Tenuous or what?
Woods, and his management company, want to tighten up on the indiscriminate bandying about of his name and image and a war is brewing with the US PGA Tour.