On Friday afternoon, Tiger Woods was asked when he'll make his PGA Tour return during a golf clinic he was hosting in Las Vegas. "Dude, if I knew, I would tell you," Woods replied. But perhaps, the 14-time major champ knows more than he was letting on.
By Saturday evening, Reuters reported Woods has booked accommodations for next month's Memorial Tournament (June 2-5). That would still give Woods a chance to play a tuneup event before the U.S. Open. Woods is already registered for the year's second major at Oakmont, although, that doesn't mean he's committed to play.
And booking accommodations doesn't guarantee Woods will play in Jack Nicklaus' event, either. Woods, who has played in the Memorial 15 of the past 19 years, has been known to reserve a house for the week of that tournament every year, regardless of his playing status. The Reuters report was unclear about when this year's accommodations were booked.
On Sunday, Golf Digest's Tim Rosaforte spoke to a high-level Muirfield Village source, who said, "No word yet. They're not giving any indication either way."
Rosaforte also reached out to Woods' agent, Mark Steinberg, who replied, "There's nothing to report. Nothing has changed."
The Reuters report also said Woods booked accommodations for the Players, which begins May 12. However, those plans were believed to be made previously as a "proactive" measure. Woods has until Friday to decide if he'll play at TPC Sawgrass. This past Friday, he passed on entering next week's Wells Fargo Championship despite previous speculation that he might make his return at Quail Hollow.
Woods hasn't played competitively since finishing T-10 (his best finish of 2015) at the Wyndham Championship in August. He is recovering from two off-season back surgeries, but three recent appearances at various golf clinics indicate his status has improved dramatically since a December press conference in which he said the most he could do was go for walks. However, it seems he feels his game isn't quite there to make his return just yet.
"Oh, I'm carrying it about 285-290," Woods said during Friday's clinic of his driver. "Not too far. Not as far as the guys on tour are hitting it. . . not as far as I know I'm capable of hitting it."
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