The full-page advert in The New York Times yesterday showing Tiger Woods in front of his Gulfstream 450 was advertising the whole plane or, for those closer to the breadline, “fractional jet ownership programs”. How much, one wonders, to buy a front wheel?

Like all of Woods’s recent commercials, he looks rather nerdy. One might even say a little smug. Selling private jets to fellow millionaires was probably not what his late father had in mind when he talked, more than a decade ago, of Woods having “the power to impact nations” or doing “more than any other man in history to change the course of humanity”.

Two big questions stalk Woods, and will do so for as long as anybody can predict. How many majors will he win? Does he do enough, given his wealth and influence, to change the world as his father promised?

He has not let us down as a golfer, even if the grand slam was postponed for another 12 months last night after a round of 72 left him in second place, on five under par. Even in defeat, there is a different buzz, an electric hum, when Woods is striding through the galleries.

When he discarded a banana skin on Saturday as he marched up the 17th hole, and part of the peel ended up falling into the mud, there was a mêlée to retrieve it. The crowds are drawn even to the litter of the most dominant figure to strike a ball.

He was average by his exalted standards at Augusta but a third-day seven-iron, speared through a four-feet gap in the foliage on to the 18th green, was right up there for shot of the week.

Yet still he leaves us wanting more. Writing about two iconic sports figures, an American columnist once observed of Muhammad Ali that he took on the Establishment, helped to awaken the consciousness of black America, he preached, and was prepared to be hated for his words, and he had a profound impact on the civil rights movement. Meanwhile, Michael Jordan once co-starred in a movie with Bugs Bunny.

Put Woods in that company and he would not be grouped with Ali but Jordan, another Nike-clad corporation. To which Woods might reply that harnessing his gifts to entertain millions while changing the face of his sport — as he has done every bit as much as Jordan in basketball — hardly qualify as moderate achievements.

He might also fairly ask whether Roger Federer is asked about what he has done for humanity on a weekly basis. Should Woods’s colour bring added expectations? As a youth, his race caused him to suffer daily slights but, as he once told Oprah Winfrey, he wants to be regarded not as a black man but as a golfer and a human being.

When it comes to giving something back, he can also point to the foundation he has established that, on top of £13 million start-up costs, claims to donate up to £3 million a year to 100 charities working with “under-served youth”. Its impact is not easy to quantify but Woods must take the work seriously to have attended a fundraising event in California last year rather than the christening of his daughter Sam in Sweden.

It is expected that Woods will become the world’s first billionaire athlete by 2010. At 32, he should have at least another decade in which to keep rewriting the record books, both on the course and regards his salary.

Even as the Masters slid away from him thanks to unforced errors — at least six of them in the opening two days alone — Woods could be certain that he will be back. A scratchy week, his C-minus game, still brought prominence on the leaderboard and there will be ample opportunities in the future to underline his status as one of the great sporting figures in history.

Perhaps that is sufficient. It would be more than enough for most of us. But if he is to live up to Earl’s grand claims for his son, the foundation’s website will have to be sincere when it proclaims: “We’re proud to say this is just the beginning.”

Final scores

United States unless stated

280: T Immelman (SA) 68, 68, 69, 75.
283: T Woods 72, 71, 68, 72.
284: S Cink 72, 69, 71, 72; B Snedeker 69, 68, 70, 77.
286: P Mickelson 71, 68, 75, 72; P Harrington (Ire) 74, 71, 69, 72; S Flesch 72, 67, 69, 78.
287: M Á Jiménez (Sp) 77, 70, 72, 68; R Karlsson (Swe) 70, 73, 71, 73; A Romero (Arg) 72, 72, 70, 73.
288: P Casey (GB) 71, 69, 69, 79; N Watney 75, 70, 72, 71; L Westwood (GB) 69, 73, 73, 73.
289: S Appleby (Aus) 76, 70, 72, 71; V Singh (Fiji) 72, 71, 72, 74; S O’Hair 72, 71, 71, 75.
290: H Stenson (Swe) 74, 72, 72, 72; M Weir (Can) 73, 68, 75, 74; R Goosen (SA) 71, 71, 72, 76.
291: Z Johnson 70, 76, 68, 77; B Weekley 72, 74, 68, 77; J Leonard 72, 74, 72, 73; B Watson 74, 71, 73, 73; B Bateman 69, 76, 72, 74.
292: Á Cabrera (Arg) 73, 72, 73, 74; R Sterne (SA) 73, 72, 73, 74; S Ames (Can) 70, 70, 77 75; J M Singh (India) 71, 74, 72, 75; A Oberholser 71, 70, 74, 77; A Scott (Aus) 75, 71, 70, 76; I Poulter (GB) 70, 69, 75, 78.
293: H Slocum 71, 76, 77, 69; N Dougherty (GB) 74, 69, 74, 76; J Furyk 70, 73, 73, 77.
295: J Rose (GB) 68, 78, 73, 76; T Hamilton 74, 73, 75, 73; J Wagner 72, 74, 74, 75.
296: N Fasth (Swe) 75, 70, 76, 75; G Ogilvy (Aus) 75, 71, 76, 74.
298: K J Choi (S Kor) 72, 75, 78, 73.
299: R Allenby (Aus) 72, 74, 72, 81; D Toms 73, 74, 72, 80.
300: I Woosnam (GB) 75, 71, 76, 78.
302: A Lyle (GB) 72, 75, 78, 77.