When and Where Will Tiger Woods Make His Return?

Tiger Woods’ recovery and rehabilitation have been so secretive that it is anyone’s guess as to just how healthy he is at this very moment and when he will make his return to the PGA Tour.

For all we know, Woods could be healthy as a horse right now and he is just waiting for the moment when his golf game feels stable enough to return.

On the other hand, he still might not be 100 percent healthy and could remain in recovery mode for a few more weeks.

I do not believe Woods will decide to return next week for the Accenture Match Play Championship.

First and foremost, the event is played in the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club at Dove Mountain. 

Dove Mountain weaves its way through the Tucson Mountains, making it a very picturesque course, but a brutal course to walk. 

I would be surprised if Woods decides to make his return at a course that is one of the most difficult courses on the PGA Tour’s schedule to walk.

Second, if Woods were to make it through to the finals of the Accenture Match Play Championship, it would require him to play a 36-hole match on Sunday.

I imagine that the possibility of playing 36-holes on that course is probably not the most appealing option for Woods’ ultimate return to competitive golf.

Speaking yesterday to a New Zealand television station, Tiger Woods' caddie, Steve Williams, said that Woods is still “a few weeks away” from making his return.

“He's probably 95 percent of the way there," Williams said.  "He was waiting for the birth of his second child which just came last week so he's ready to go. He just needs a little bit more walking. He hasn't been able to walk too well." 

“Anytime in the next few weeks he's going to tee it up. He definitely wants to play a couple of tournaments before Augusta so any day now he's going to make a decision when he's going to play.”

Looking at the schedule, it would appear that the most likely choice for Woods’ return will be at the World Golf Championship-CA Championship.

The WGC-CA Championship would give Woods a few extra weeks to recover and is also played is Miami, which is very close to his home in Windermere, Florida.

In addition, Woods has won the WGC-CA Championship six times in its nine year existence. 

If Woods does decide to make his return at the WGC-CA Championship, I would guess that he would then take the following week off before attending the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which he won last year.  Then, of course, he would make an appearance at the Masters.

Woods’ preparation for his return to the PGA Tour has been shrouded in such secrecy that there are probably only a few people on the face of the planet that really know what he is thinking—in terms of his return to the PGA Tour. 

One thing is for sure though—don’t expect Tiger Woods to even think about making his return to the PGA Tour until he knows with absolute certainty that he has a legitimate chance to win.