It came as no surprise when mainstream companies such as Gillette and Accenture distanced themselves from Tiger Woods in recent weeks, but now the somewhat insular golf community has stepped back too.Golf Digest announced Wednesday that it would suspend monthly articles that appear under Woods' name, at least until he returns to the PGA Tour."We respect Tiger's decision to take a break from professional golf and focus on his family," said Bret Hopman, a publicist for the magazine. "Tiger's bylined instruction articles will not be published in Golf Digest during his time away from the game."The news was unexpected, if only because athletes facing controversy usually fare better within the confines of their sport."On the surface, it is kind of surprising," David Carter, executive director of USC's Sports Business Institute, said. "However, they also have to sell advertising and be mindful of what their business partners expect."I think it is a function of how widespread Woods' marketing problems have become," he said.This month, the superstar golfer announced that he was taking an "indefinite" leave from the tour. Woods has weathered a media storm since an early-morning car accident in November and subsequent reports from multiple women alleging to have had sexual liaisons with him.The fallout has significantly damaged his status as a sports celebrity who earns an estimated $110 million annually in endorsements, according to Forbes magazine.Accenture, a global consulting firm, recently walked away from Woods, and Gatorade carried through with an earlier decision to stop making his sports drink. Gillette has discontinued advertisements featuring Woods, and AT&T; has said it is reevaluating their business relationship.As for Golf Digest, the magazine had come under fire for its latest cover -- which went to press before the scandal broke -- showing a photo illustration of Woods caddying for President Obama with the headline: "10 Tips Obama Can Take From Tiger."Woods' exclusive agreement with the magazine reportedly pays $3 million annually."We're not going to comment on the compensation," Hopman said.However, the magazine is keeping Woods on the masthead and Hopman said: "Golf Digest has had a long-standing relationship with Tiger Woods . . . we do not have any plans to change that."The golfer got another show of support this week from Tag Heuer. The Swiss watchmaker displayed a black-and-white photograph of Woods on its website, a watch draped over his left hand, with the words: "Tag Heuer stands with Tiger Woods." ||||| As more lurid claims about his private life emerged, experts questioned how long sponsors would stand by a sports star who has turned into an international laughing stock. 
 
 The golfer had to grit his teeth through a particularly humiliating few days in America as he was lampooned on the popular US television show Saturday Night Live and the tally of women with whom he has allegedly had affairs more than doubled. 
 
 The embarrassment increased with the ill-timed publication of the latest edition of Golf Digest magazine with a picture of Woods and Barack Obama on the front cover and the headline 10 Tips Obama Can Take From Tiger. 
 
 Internet pranksters meanwhile have found new Woods-related uses for "Just Do It", the motto of his biggest sponsor, Nike. 
 
 The latest woman to be linked with the hapless sportsman is Holly Sampson, the 36-year-old star of films such as Diary of A Horny Housewife and Emmanuelle in Paradise. Her lawyer said yesterday that she had nothing to say on the matter. 
 
 Sampson joins an assorted list of busty and usually blond cocktail waitresses, aspiring models and nightclub promoters who have been named as mistresses of Woods. 
 
 Four more women have been included in the tally although not named. They reportedly include a British television presenter. 
 
 Woods, the first billionaire sportsman, earned an estimated $100 million (£67m) last year, much of it from sponsorship deals. 
 
 While major sponsors, including Nike and EA SPORTS, insisted yesterday that their relationship with Woods remained unchanged, some observers believe they must be increasingly concerned about the repercussions for them of the scandal. 
 
 "Sponsors re-evaluate such relationships every day and they must be worried that this is damaging their brand," said Mike Paul, a New York crisis public relations specialist. 
 
 "It's Christmas season, every retailer and company is pushing every product and what they'd like to run in their ads right now is Tiger. He's supposed to be the safe – the given – brand. But right now, he's the risk." 
 
 Zoe Turnbull, a US marketing consultant, said the controversy could weigh against Woods with sponsors if he plays badly next season. 
 
 "The dust will eventually settle. If he's still a very good golfer he'll be fine but, if not, all this could be very convenient for sponsors to use as a reason for ending deals," she said.
– Golf Digest has distanced itself—temporarily, the magazine says—from Tiger Woods, in a sign that his escapades have seriously damaged the golfer’s cachet. Woods’ name will remain on the masthead, but his instructional columns will be on hiatus as long as he is. The move is shocking because a beleaguered athlete’s own sports community is usually a main source of support, the Los Angeles Times observes. A contributing factor may have been the magazine’s latest cover, printed before the scandal broke, which features “10 Tips Obama Can Take From Tiger.” Meanwhile, after TAG Heuer appeared to be preparing to drop the golfer, the watchmaker posted a note on its website reading, “TAG Heuer stands with Tiger Woods,” the Daily Mirror reports.