DORAL, Fla. --- The nice story emerging from the World Golf Championship event this weekend involves a young South African rising from Ernie Els' developmental foundation back home to share the lead with his benefactor entering the final round at the Blue Monster.

Advertisement

It's the kind of story any golf tournament would wish for. Charl Schwartzel, the 25-year-old sleeping in the guest bedroom of Els' South Florida home the last couple weeks, will duel with his three-time major-winning hero with a $1.4 million winner's check on the line.

It's the kind of feel-good story that would play well in Augusta next month. It's the kind of story that might get grossly overshadowed at the Masters Tournament.

If reports are accurate, the Masters is threatening to get overwhelmed by what Stewart Cink referred to as "the elephant in the room."

If Tiger Woods returns from his scandal-imposed exile at Augusta National Golf Club in April, it threatens to blot out all the traditions that make the Masters the favorite tournament of the year for many players and fans.

"Whenever he comes back it's going to draw a lot of attention to that tournament and the focus is going to be on him coming back," said Steve Stricker, the No. 2 player in the world behind the idle Woods. "I don't know if Augusta would like that to happen, you know? To turn it into Tiger's comeback instead of the Masters Tournament itself."

It's unclear whether Woods has made up his mind yet about when he will return to playing golf. Some reports claim he's going to make an appearance in two weeks a few miles from his home at Arnold Palmer's tour event at Bay Hill. Other, more reliable sources have suggested that the Masters will provide cover for the coming out party. Some still believe it might be neither.

Whatever the case, the players would like a resolution of a festering issue that's been hovering in the air all season.

"Until you hear it from Tiger Woods and his agents, it's still speculation," said Stricker, who counts himself as one of the golfer's friends on tour. "We'd like to know one way or another for sure. Everybody would. It gets to the point where you're like, 'C'mon, just make up your mind and tell us where you're playing because we're all dying to know anyway.' "

Woods certainly owes his peers that courtesy. And he owes the tournament itself the same kind of heads up.

Woods' annoying practice of withholding his commitment to any event until the final deadline is simply irresponsible -- especially now that he brings with him so much excess baggage. He doesn't even have to commit in advance to play on his lifetime invitation to the Masters, but he owes the club and tournament more than just a little heads up.

Players are a little mixed about the idea of Woods showing up for the first time after nearly a five-month layoff at Augusta National. To some it makes perfect sense. To others it's nonsense.

"I think that's one of the easier ones," David Toms said. "Augusta takes control of what's going on. I don't see too many people getting in his face like a normal crowd at a normal event because they're too worried about getting their ticket pulled and escorted out."

Said Adam Scott: "It's a more controlled environment, certainly."

But from a competitive standpoint, others are scratching their heads.

"You'd think as a player, being gone for so long, he'd want to come back before that," Stricker said. "He could do it for sure, but it's going to be hard. It's going to be hard for him to not only worry about playing but all the hype. It's going to be intensified even more so than it has been. That's why I thought he'd come back for a tournament or two before that to get some of that put aside before Augusta."

NBC commentator Johnny Miller agrees -- though it should be noted that NBC would covet the ratings boost at Bay Hill instead of letting CBS have it at the Masters.

"If he wants to win at Augusta, which he does, he's going to have to play Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill tournament," Miller said. "No doubt about that. I really believe he needs to get one tournament under his belt -- get the cobwebs out, get his confidence going. ... The big thing of Bay Hill is that he's got to go through all the hoopla, not just of the sports coverage but the entertainment coverage. Get it out of his system. Answer the questions. Get it behind him. Go to Augusta and go ahead and win that green jacket."

That would seem more fair to his peers, as well. Players gear their whole careers for playing events like the Masters, and some poor souls will have the disservice of being paired with Woods in the middle of the three-ring circus instead of a golfing nirvana.

"It's a circus anyway ... and it's going to be even a little crazier when he comes back," said Stricker, who was undefeated when paired with Woods at last fall's Presidents Cup. "I really don't want to be a part of that group and I kind of do in some strange way to be out there with him. But as far as playing the tournament I don't know if it would be the healthiest thing for my own game."

It won't be the healthiest environment for any tournament. But if it comes to that, the Masters will survive -- even if the elephant in the room smothers all the beautiful stories that might emerge.