But reports conflict over when that will be
Will Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Invitational be the must-see sports event of 2010?
It will be if a New York Post report regarding Tiger Woods’ return to golf is true.
Conflicting reports surfaced Thursday regarding Woods’ return to the PGA Tour. The New York Post first reported that Woods plans to play at the Bay Hill Invitational, March 25-28. Both the Associated Press and FOX Sports refuted the report Thursday evening, saying that Woods would not return until the Masters, April 8-11. The AP cited two sources close to Woods.
The Bay Hill Invitational is a regular event on Woods’ schedule, his annual tune-up for the Masters. Sources close to Arnold Palmer have said the golf legend expects Woods to play at his event. The deadline for entry is the Friday before the tournament, a week from today.
On Wednesday, Woods’ close friend, PGA Tour veteran Mark O’Meara, told the Golf Channel that he “wouldn’t be surprised” to see Woods play in the made-for-TV Tavistock Cup, a two-day exhibition held this year at Woods’ home course, Isleworth (Fla.), March 23-24.
Calls to the Tiger Woods Foundation were not returned. Woods has long been the only person in his camp permitted to address his schedule.
Since his return home, after a week of family counseling in Arizona, Woods has been seen on the practice tee at Isleworth, sometimes with swing coach Hank Haney.
In addition, the New York Post reported that Woods has enlisted the services of image consultant Ari Fleisher, indicating that Woods is ready to return and face the press. Fleisher, former press secretary for George W. Bush, runs Fleisher Sports Communications, a joint venture with IMG, the sports marketing firm employed by Woods. In his new role, Fleisher has worked with former baseball star Mark McGwire, an admitted steroid user, Major League Baseball, the NFL and the BCS.
A Woods return at the Tavistock, in the gated community where he lives, would give him a level of protection from the press and fans. There will be less protection at Bay Hill, held in nearby Orlando. But it does offer Woods the chance to commute from home.
The Masters, played on an ultra-exclusive private course, would provide a closed environment for Woods. At Augusta, Woods would be less likely to encounter hostile fans or press.
Woods has not played a PGA Tour event since the World Golf Championships, Nov. 5-8. On Thanksgiving night, Woods ran into a fire hydrant outside his home. In the following weeks, extra-martial affairs with more than a dozen women were revealed.
Sponsors Accenture, AT&T and Gatorade dropped Woods and he checked into a sex rehab facility in Mississippi on Dec. 31.
After a six-week stay, Woods returned to Florida and made his first public appearance, Feb. 17, speaking from the TPC Sawgrass, where he apologized for his behavior saying, “I felt I was entitled. I was wrong. I was foolish. I don’t get to play by different rules.”
