Tiger, King Of Jungle, Fairway & Green

He's calm, he's cool and he's still very young to be at the top of his golf game. But make no mistake, Tiger Woods is the brightest star in professional sports right now. And, as CBS News Correspondent John Blackstone reports, they're lining up to show him the money.

Tiger Woods didn’t just beat the competition in the U.S. Open; he crushed it. Even so, Tiger’s victory created plenty of other winners, starting with just about everybody who sells golf equipment. They call it the Tiger effect.

"It's enormous, people who have never played the game want to start to play the game, learn how to play the game, emulate Tiger Woods," says Mickey Klein, a golf equipment salesman.

If Tiger uses it, other golfers want it. "Just by virtue of the fact that he’s endorsed a particular golf ball people are coming in all the time asking for that ball which is the new Nike ball," says Klein.

Nike wasn’t even known for golf equipment until the company signed Tiger to his multimillion-dollar endorsement deal. But Tiger’s influence goes far beyond golfing’s brand names.

"He’s like Michael Jordan in golf,” says an admirer.

Tiger has helped change the very identity of the game. It's no longer just for the country club set.

"Down here we’ve got bus drivers, waiters, bar tenders, guys who drive trucks and have a few hours to lay over--you name it," says Dennis Duden of the Mission Bay Golf Center.

But it isn't only golf that Tiger's selling now. He's become a powerful pitchman for watches credit cards and cars. Last year alone he earned $40 million in endorsements.

The next stop on the pro tour is the British Open, where the Tiger effect is likely to prove a valuable American export.