With the news late last night that Tiger Woods is taking an "indefinite leave" from the game of golf, it's not too soon to ask the question when the decade's greatest athlete will return. Will it be in January, wil it be never? Time for our best guest in another edition of What are the Odds?
San Diego Open (Jan 25-31): 15-1
Usually Tiger loves to get his year started at the San Diego Open at Torrey Pines. It's a place he's won he's won 6 times, not including that 2008 U.S. Open victory at the same course. Don't underestimate the warm, home-town welcome Woods would also receive at this event. So, even though the odds are a bit longer due to this being the first event he might return at, it could be a good dark horse bet. Who said indefinite couldn't mean one month?
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (Feb 8-14): 40-1
Woods could also return at one of the glamour events on the PGA Tour at one of Tiger's favorite courses, Pebble Beach. But, he hasn't played in the event since 2002, so it's a long-shot at best. However, seeing Tiger chuckling up the seaside fairways with Bill Murray or Ray Romano could help boost Tiger's flattened image.
Accenture Match Play (Feb 15-21): 25-1
A common theme on this list, a tournament Woods has found his fair share of success at, the Accenture Match Play. Tiger's won this tournament 3 times, but has also been upset numerous times as well. Due to the uncertainty of match play, don't expect Woods to risk flopping in his first outing back by losing to Greg Chalmers.
Arnold Palmer Invitational (March 22-28): 6-1
Ah, here's the odds on favorite for Tiger's return, Arnie's tournament at Bay Hill in late March. First, Tiger can have his return press conference with Arnold Palmer at his side to put his arm around him and welcome him back to the golf world. Second, it's another tournament Tiger has dominated and won a record 6 times. Finally, it would be the perfect tune-up before Tiger's first major at Augusta in April. For all the mystery surrounding Tiger, there's one thing for certain. The only thing Tiger cares more about than his family, his mistresses, his meds, or his sponsors are the 4 majors. It will be a shock if Tiger's "indefinite leave" doesn't end shortly before the Masters.
The Masters (April 5-11): 75-1
As we just said, Tiger wants to win majors more than anything, so it's highly unlikely he'll return to the Masters without a warm-up tournament. Also, can you imagine the media circus if Tiger waited until the Masters to make his comeback? It's going to be on par with the O.J. trial no matter when he does, but it would be even worse if he waited until the year's first major.
John Deere Classic (July 5-11): 200-1
Ok, so this is a joke, but think about it. What better way to return from obscurity than one of the most obscure tournaments on the PGA Tour? Can't you imagine Tiger sneaking in the night before the tournament, then his "PR team" setting up road blocks outside the surrounding 50 miles? So maybe this sounds more like a bad cable movie, but it's still better odds than one of our choices.
2011: 35-1
Surprisingly, the odds of Tiger sitting out the entire 2010 season is more likely than returning later into 2010. Certainly, the controversy surrounding Tiger would have subsided a year from now. You can also bet a year without Tiger's excellence would drive the mainstream media and the PGA Tour even more insane than this controversy. The public opinion would shift from demonizing Tiger to eagerly anticipating his return. Tiger's also only going to be 34 in a couple weeks, so a year off wouldn't put Tiger outside of his prime.
Never: 8,000,000:1
Despite the pleas of a couple idiot sportswriters and the wishes of absolute morons, the odds are firmly stacked against Tiger never returning are higher than Tiger sprouting wings and flying to the moon. Again, the only reason Tiger was put on this earth, besides nabbing VIP lounge hostesses and porn stars, was to play golf. This is Tiger's livelihood, the reason why he has everything he has risked losing with his "infidelity". The odds on him never coming back to the game are ones you shouldn't bet on, ever.
Those are our thoughts on when we'll next see Tiger on the prowl...on the golf course, that is. What's your bet? Will we see Tiger sooner rather than later, or is there a chance we've seen the last of Eldrick on the golf course. Of course, we don't recommend officially gambling on the subject, but if we did, let us know what you think by posting a comment. Also stay tuned for our NFL Preview and the return of our Decade Series next week. Until then, it's bye for now!
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