A report last week suggested Tiger Woods could well make his PGA Tour return next week at the Wells Fargo Championship or in two weeks at The Players Championship.
Casting doubt on that was Woods himself when, on Monday, the 14-time major winner played what he said was his first five holes since having a pair of back surgeries last fall. Woods was in the Houston area to christen Bluejack National, his first U.S. design to open, and unveil the full 18-hole course.
RG: The tee shot on the long 18th hole. pic.twitter.com/KdI9dQHi1V
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) April 25, 2016
RG: Taking a crack at the par-3 12th hole. pic.twitter.com/hqArUey34r
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) April 25, 2016
Tiger said the five holes he played today @BluejackNation were the first holes he's played since the Wyndham Championship last August.
— RonGreenJr (@RonGreenJr) April 25, 2016
Woods was there in March for the reveal of a family-friendly short course called The Playground. (Remember when that kid made in a hole-in-one on the first ever shot there?)
The admission flies in the face of Tim Rosaforte's report last week that Woods had been engaged in multi-hour practice sessions -- four or five hours -- that included several holes of golf. In a follow to that initial report, Rosaforte offered this timeline for a potential return, though Rosaforte did not say that was official or etched in stone. Woods and his agent, Mark Steinberg, have maintained that there is no timetable for his return, though Woods has gone through the clerical work of registering for the U.S. Open in June.
Given how gingerly Woods seems on his follow-through, it's hard to imagine him returning in either of the next two weeks. If any tournament in May, the Memorial Tournament, an event Woods has won five times, makes good sense. However, Jack Nicklaus classified Woods' chances of playing in his event at "1 in 5."
Then again, Woods has surprised us -- even the Golden Bear -- on more than one occasion.
