In a statement posted on his official website, Tiger Woods announced that he will return to the PGA Tour at this year’s Masters tournament, which takes place April 8-11.

“The Masters is where I won my first major, and I view this tournament with great respect. After a long and necessary time away from the game, I feel like I’m ready to start my season at Augusta.

“I have undergone almost two months of inpatient therapy, and I am continuing my treatment. Although I’m returning to competition, I still have a lot of work to do in my personal life.

“When I finally got into a position to think about competitive golf again, it became apparent to me that the Masters would be the earliest I could play. I called both Joe Lewis and Arnold Palmer and expressed my regrets for not attending the Tavistock Cup and the Arnold Palmer Invitational. I again want to thank them both for their support and their understanding. Those are fantastic tournaments, and I look forward to competing in them again.

I know I risk hurting my arm while trying to pat my own back, but this is what I wrote on March 2 when it was reported that Tiger was out of therapy and getting back into shape:

Does anyone else smell an April 8th return for Tiger? That’s the first day of the Masters and while I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of him playing in a smaller tournament or two before then, I’m willing to bet that Tiger would want to create some good publicity for himself on a big stage.

This one was rather easy to forecast. Woods (and his people) knows that the media coverage is going to be insane no matter where he goes, so he might as well play in a major, where access to him will be limited and there will be more storylines going on then just his return. He will still be the main focus obviously, but the Masters is already a big deal so why not return then?

Personally, I like the decision. It might have been wiser for him to return to a smaller event in order to get the first appearance out of the way, but why not tackle a major right away? His return is going to be a big story no matter what, so why not have it be on a huge national stage?


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