Jim Nantz, longtime CBS sports announcer and lover of golf, was ranting the other day that Brooks Koepka deserves more attention than he has been getting.

Nantz cited Koepka’s recent accomplishments, winning three of the past seven major golf championships he has played in and posting eight top-10 finishes in the past 10. Koepka, the 2018 PGA Player of the Year, will also be defending the Wanamaker Trophy when the PGA Championship begins Thursday at Bethpage Black on Long Island.

“Poor Brooks Koepka,” Nantz said during a recent conference call. “If I don’t bring up his name right now, you guys are never going to bring him up. It’s borderline tragic in terms of how you cover a player or a subject. He’s having the best run of golf since Tiger [Woods] in 2000 and 2001. It’s just not interesting enough for us to give the guy the time. We can’t give the guy a sniff.”

Koepka also finished second at this year’s Masters, and has the blend of power and touch needed to contend at the Black. But Koepka isn’t the favorite to win, and he won’t be the most sought-after interview. Blame Woods more than the media. Being overshadowed is something golf’s best players may have to get accustomed to now that Tigermania has returned to the PGA Tour.

With Woods winning his fifth green jacket last month and first major in 11 years, it’s already Tiger Woods 24/7. Everything is being chronicled, from where his $20 million yacht is parked in Oyster Bay to being presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom to making his first practice round at the Black. It has the feel of the late 1990s and early 2000s again, when it was all about Woods and virtually no one else mattered. It’s getting that way again.

“I would say 99 percent of the people that show up when he’s playing are there to see him,” Jordan Spieth said.

Players like Spieth, Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Justin Rose, Rickie Fowler, Phil Mickelson and Justin Thomas have carried the sport while Woods was out battling back injuries and personal troubles. Most of them grew up inspired by watching Woods in his prime. Once they matured into pros, they offered a much-needed injection of youth and bravado that has been good for golf. All but Fowler have won majors and earned their own legions of fans, who have gravitated to them for one reason or another.

Spieth probably came the closest to becoming the next big thing in golf. He will be trying to achieve a career grand slam at Bethpage, having captured the 2015 Masters, 2015 U.S. Open and the 2017 British Open. But he is mired in a slump that’s left him without a victory since capturing his last major. He doesn’t have a top-20 finish in 2019. Spiethmania has taken a hiatus.

Johnson, McIlroy, Day, Rose and Thomas can win any given tournament. But they’re also likely to be big disappointments — Rose missed the cut at Augusta and McIlroy finished tied for 21st.

Under normal circumstances, Koepka would be the favorite at Bethpage. But his placid demeanor won’t help him escape Woods’ shadow.

“In my mind, he’s the favorite coming into Bethpage based on the facts of what he’s done in the last 13 majors,” Nantz said of Koepka. “It’s an awesome stretch for him and good thing for the welfare of the game, if we want to deal in reality. We may not think it’s interesting enough to make the public follow along.”

Some might argue the depth of talent in the PGA Tour has prevented the emergence of breakout star. No doubt the players of today are stronger, longer and more health-conscious than their predecessors, but 11 years after capturing his last major, it’s still Woods who moves the needle.

CBS said the final round of the Masters was “the highest-rated morning golf broadcast in 34 years” — which sounds impressive until you realize weather forced an unusually early start and the only other “morning golf broadcast” is the British Open. But Saturday’s third-round played at its normal time was the highest-rated Saturday golf telecast in four years. Furthermore, according to CBS research, when Woods is playing in the weekend of a tournament, viewership increases nearly 30 percent.

Consider this: Tigermania 2.0 might be even greater than Tigermania 1.0. Back then, Woods had plenty of fans but also had those who didn’t like his dominance, his arrogance, and all the attention and riches he received. But now he is being cheered by just about everyone after his career was put in peril. Add the impact of social media, and not only is he being supported by older fans, who witnessed his journey from an amateur to 15-time major winner, but also younger fans, who are getting their chance to witness Tigermania first-hand.

A big difference is Woods embraces his current contemporaries. When he first arrived on the Tour, he seldom acknowledged his peers publicly or privately. They were the enemy. Today he exchanges texts with the game’s top players, having grown close to many of them while serving as an assistant captain on recent Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup teams. The younger generation of stars welcomes his return to prominence.

“I think it’s really good for our game going forward,” Spieth said. “Knowing that we’ll potentially have the chance to battle it out with him is a dream come true.”

Xander Schauffele, who finished tied for second at the Masters, is among those caught up in Tigermania 2.0.

“Tiger coming off 18 [at Augusta], it was a throwback, seeing him in red in the mock turtleneck. It’s what I saw as a kid,” he said.

Be careful what you wish for: Tigermania 2.0 might be even greater than Tigermania 1.0, casting a bigger shadow that could make everyone else irrelevant.