everytime Tiger puts the peg in the ground you are watching history. You are watching the best golfer the game has ever seen and most likely ever will see. Not to mention arguably the most recognizable / popular athlete in the world. So yeah, the Tour is very dependent on him. Just like any other sport would if they had the best to play the game ever, the would lean on him as well during that time.
Trust me, there are plenty of younger guys out on Tour right now that Tiger has inspired. You have to remember, Tiger has been a phenom since he was 8. This isnt a guy that all of sudden got popular on when he won his first tour event. So that covers a lot of years. If you look at junior / high school / college golf right now, there are kids playing all these that could excel and did excel other sports. 15 years ago, it was very rare. Golf has a lot more athletes playing the game now than ever. Thanks to Tiger.