US PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem, left, says the PGA will survive without its number one player, Tiger Woods, who announced he will be out of the game ‘indefinitely.’

ORLANDO, Florida (AFP) — Tiger Woods halting his golf career will not bring ''doom and gloom'' to the US PGA Tour, commissioner Tim Finchem said Thursday, predicting a ''successful'' 2010 without the world number one.

Embattled Woods said a week ago he was taking an indefinite break to work on personal issues after admitting infidelity to wife Elin, who is reportedly set to divorce him following reports he had as many mistresses as major titles: 14.

''I think we will have a good year in '10,'' Finchem said. ''I don't want to sugarcoat these issues. It's tough to have your number one guy out. Our hope is he can work through these issues and come back and play.''

Finchem was parodied by Saturday Night Live last weekend, his predicament of selling the sport without Woods played for laughs amid fears of 50 percent TV viewership losses and sponsor pullouts with Woods disgraced and absent.

On Thursday, Finchem conducted a media conference call and television interviews to address such concerns.

''I think the doom and gloom needs to go away,'' Finchem said.

''I want him to come back and play, but we are going to be successful in '10. If Tiger is out for a couple of months or eight months or a year, we're going to have a successful year.''

But with the PGA already reeling from a weak economy and sponsor pullouts, Finchem admits the US PGA will be clearly worse off without Woods than before.

''I'm not saying that I think everything is fine,'' Finchem said. ''We're in a down economy. It's hard to sell. And having the number one player in our sport not play is not a positive thing and it does hurt television ratings.

''It won't be at the same levels without our number one player. No sport would be.''

To bolster his sponsor optimism, Finchem said that Sony renewed sponsorship of the US PGA's first, full-field event of each season in Hawaii, giving the tour seven sponsor renewals and three new deals in 2009.