DORAL, Fla. - Tiger Woods intends to remain out of golf at least until the Masters Tournament, two people with knowledge of his plans have told The Associated Press.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Tiger Woods and caddie Steve Williams evaluate a shot during an event in Atlanta last fall.

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Woods has been practicing at Isleworth near his Orlando home the last two weeks, and swing coach Hank Haney flew there during the weekend to work with him. That led to speculation Thursday he was close to playing again.

The two people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because only Woods is supposed to release such information, say he is likely to play first at Augusta National Golf Club in April.

When asked this week at Doral about his possible return, Woods' peers responded favorably.

"I think we all look forward to seeing him back," Jim Furyk said. "I think we're probably more than anything looking forward to getting business back as usual, which is not going to be the case for awhile. No one is looking forward to that first week because it's chaos and it's going to be chaos."

Said Robert Allenby: "I think he's going to be more popular than ever. Everybody is going to want to see him, at least for the first couple of months. I mean he's been in the news more often than anybody not in Iraq."

British Open champion Stewart Cink expects fans to react in a positive manner, too.
"I really think it will be less negative than people think with the fans. There might be the odd one (to heckle)," Cink said. "I feel it will certainly be awkward (for players). But who cares? We'll get past it."

Woods has not played since Nov. 15, when he won the Australian Masters in Melbourne for his 82nd career victory. Twelve days later, he crashed his SUV into a tree near his Florida home, setting off shocking revelations that he had been cheating on his wife.

Woods returned from family therapy in Arizona on Feb. 28 and began getting into a routine of fitness and practice. Haney was working with Woods on the practice range earlier this week.

Meanwhile, former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer declined to comment on reports that he had been brought on board to help with Woods' return.
Fleischer said in an e-mail to the AP he could neither confirm nor deny that Woods was a client.

Six-time Masters winner Jack Nicklaus said last week that if Woods did return to the Masters and attend the annual Champions Dinner, it would not be any different than years past.

"Nah. It's the Champions Dinner," Nicklaus said. "His personal life is his personal life. As a golfer he's sensational and a great athlete. He'll figure out his own problems."

Staff writer Scott Michaux contributed to this article.