It makes such perfect sense that I'm ashamed I didn't think of it myself. In giving about a half-dozen Tiger Woods comeback scenarios in a column a couple weeks ago, I wasn't thinking outside the box.
Actually, I wasn't thinking outside the PGA Tour.
The tabloid TMZ.com is citing a source that claims Tiger Woods will return from his scandal-induced exile in the very same neighborhood where all of his troubles began with a car crash outside his driveway in the wee hours after Thanksgiving. TMZ.com is reporting that Woods will end his indefinite leave from golf at the Tavistock Cup matches in late March at Isleworth Golf & Country Club.
The Tavistock Cup - for those who don't know - is a relatively private golf event pitting the pros who live and play at Isleworth on one side of Orlando with the ones who live and play at Lake Nona on the other. It's held in two days (March 22-23) immediately preceding the PGA Tour event at nearby Bay Hill and just two weeks before the Masters Tournament practice rounds.
The event - while televised on the Golf Channel - is so exclusive that you have to be invited to attend as a spectator. Rather than trouble the players to commute the 30 minutes or so across town, the reclusive money man (British-born billionaire Joe Lewis) behind the event flies the players in and out by helicopter. Media (if invited) attendance is at a bare minimum and there are no interviews.
This year's Tavistock Cup will be played at Isleworth, meaning Tiger could roll out of bed and onto the first tee by passing only a few neighbors -assuming he can navigate through the various fire hydrants, trees and other hazards that separate his house from the clubhouse. The tabloids will be kept at bay beyond the gates of the neighborhood he'd never have to leave.
Woods using the Tavistock as his Masters tuneup fits his career-long M.O. of revealing nothing. He could get a small taste of the action among close friends without ever having to say a word to the media. Then he can show up at Augusta and ignore the press center there as well, if he chooses.
Playing both the Tavistock and the Masters would avoid something else - an official PGA Tour run event. This might be necessary if Woods were in the midst of some sort of tour suspension. The PGA Tour never discusses any punishments it metes out, and the only way to know is if the player discusses it himself (i.e. John Daly last year or Champions Tour stalwart Jim Thorpe this season). Tiger isn't likely to offer the info himself.
But considering the tour did suspend Daly half a season for conduct unbecoming and sidelined Thorpe in the month leading up to his April 1 deadline to report to jail for failure to pay taxes, the tawdry Woods saga that has played out in the tabloids for the last three months seems like a ripe target for some kind of reprimand. Should he skip regular PGA Tour events until after the Masters (or even all the way until June when a six-month window would close before the Memorial and U.S. Open), it raises the possibility that something other than a self-imposed break could be going on. We may never know for sure.
Whatever the case, this Tavistock report on TMZ has some solid legs underneath it despite the sketchiness of its unnamed source that "works for the Woods family." A colleague of mine in Orlando says that the Tavistock folks are not commenting on the rumor - which of course means they're not denying it either.
If Woods does play at Isleworth - where Augusta native Charles Howell would be one of his teammates - you can expect that an appearance at Augusta National two weeks later is likely. If so, the circus will indeed have come to town.
Tigers a golfer, let im play !
Golf is supposed to be a game of honor and dignity. None of which he has. (But I hope he does play, the price for my practice round tickets will go up!)
The only thing Tiger did was present himself as something he was not. We have never had any clue how he conducted himself off the course until this came about. Was Tiger a playboy while he was single? Was this his standard mode of operation? If anyone thinks Tiger has a sex addiction they are wrong, he had to do something to save face. Besides, how many people who seek treatment for a disorder are allowed to remodel their rooms? I heard he spent $100,000 to remodel his room at this treatment facility. Isn't one supposed to identify with others and be treated as a normal patient in this kind of setting? Tiger is just like Obama; He is not a minority nor does he want to be perceived as one.
Chillen, Tiger has played the game of Golf with honor and dignity. He just hasn't played the role of husband with honor and dignity. Not to say I approve but I'm just glad he was caught cheating with women and not men.
Actually I've seen him blow snot out of his nose during tournaments and yell at his caddie on more than one occasion. Those are small things in comparison to his prostitute addiction but they still give you a glimpse of the golfer and the man. From what I see, good golfer, bad man.
LET HIM PLAY GOLF AGAIN..The best golfer in the world. More $$$ for Augusta if he is at the Masters.
lol! That's exactly what I said earlier, more money!
Well, most have it wrong. In this society, if you are a celebrity, you are crucified for your sin. If you are just an average husband cheating on your wife, WHO CARES!!! What's wrong with this picture? Let the man earn a living playing golf. What goes on in and out of his bedroom should not be any of our business. What penalty and punishment he receives should be between he and his wife. GET OVER IT!!!!!
Well, that is unfortunate for him but it comes with the glory. Folks who choose a public life, have well, a public life. It's never been different and they all know it going into it.
I think folks like him had an obligation to be an inspiration to millions of young golfers. What a story he told. Playing golf as a young boy with his Dad. He blew it big time and he is paying for it dearly with his career and his personal life, he is a mess right now. Apparently the companies he endorses feel the same way, he's been dropped like a hot potato.
I believe everyone here has said let him play, he is just a disgrace, that's all.
Chillen, I don't totally disagree with what you are saying. Let this man deal with the embarrassment that he has brought upon himself and his family.
The next time Tiger says "excuse me while i whip this out." I hope he is referring to his driver, no, three iron. His driver seems to end up in a bush much to often.
Tiger committed an indescretion not a crime. All of his trist were with legal aged consenting adults. Remember what the liberal press said about Bill clinton "it's just sex, stay out of others bedrooms."
I can see where his wife might beat the snot out of him with a club, but a reprimand or punishment from the PGA? Ridiculous. That should only apply if he conducts himself in an unseemly manner on a golf course. I know that football, basketball and baseball players get fined, but they are under contract to the entity doling out punishment and signed contracts to keep their noses clean. Do the golfers have such an agreement with the PGA?
I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm ready to see Tiger play again.
I sure hope dejones was referring to golf @ 10.03.