The last golf tournament Tiger Woods won was the Australian Masters in November 2009, but the PGA of Australia announced scheduling changes that could make it unlikely Tiger returns to play the Aussie Masters in 2011. With the 2011 President’s Cup being played in Australia in November 2011, the Australian Open will get the date usually reserved for the Australian Masters.

To the casual non-Australian golf fan, why this is a patent slap in the face to the world’s second-ranked golfer might not be apparent. But to Tiger Woods, there’s a big difference between playing in the Australian Masters as opposed to the Australian Open or the Australian PGA or the Australian British Open, because only the Aussie Masters is run by IMG, the company that manages Tiger.

To make things worse, the PGA of Australia moved the Australian PGA to the weekend after the President’s Cup, leaving the Australian Masters to move to December and probably the same weekend as the Chevron World Challenge, the tournament Tiger hosts in California.

To play in the Australian Masters in 2009, Tiger Woods pocketed a $3 million appearance fee, half of which was paid for by the state government. A state study showed Tiger’s appearance brought $30 million into the local economy. So, why is the PGA of Australia now treating Tiger like he’s from New Zealand?

Max Garske, the chief executive of the PGA of Australia, said the decision “was made in the best interest of both Australian golf and the PGA Tour of Australasia” and factored in “the timing of a number of international events, the availability of certain venues and the domestic schedule that best serves the Australian golfing public.”