According to a report by FOXSports.com, Tiger Woods is targeting the Arnold Palmer Invitational on March 25 at Bill Hill in Orlando to make his return to the PGA Tour.
Two sources in the golf community told The New York Post that Ari Fleischer, the former press secretary to Pres. George W. Bush and the man who was brought in to help repair the steroid-shattered image of Mark McGwire, has been huddling with Woods, plotting a strategy for his return to golf — at the Arnold Palmer Invitational starting March 25 at Bay Hill in Orlando.
“They were in his living room this week going over a strategy for how to handle Bay Hill in two weeks,” one source said.
The other source told The Post, “I would be shocked if he didn’t play the Arnold Palmer .”
Palmer himself reportedly has told some close confidants that Woods is definitely playing Bay Hill. Quietly, the people running the tournament are preparing for a larger-than-usual media crush.
Last week I made a prediction that Tiger would make his return at the Masters on April 8th, or play in whatever tournament occurs the week before the Masters. Bay Hill is the last tournament before the Masters.
It makes sense that Woods would want to knock the rust off his game before he played in a major, so I wouldn’t doubt it if this report were true and his return is at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. It’ll be interesting to see how his team will choose to handle the media when he’s not out on the course.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
