by Ryan D. Jaeger
Arnold Palmer, the multi time Masters golf champion, had mixed feelings
yesterday, after he was informed that Tiger Woods had chosen to skip the
invitational tournament that bears Palmer's name and to kick start his golfing
career at August next month instead.
While Palmer stated that "we certainly would have liked him to play," he also
said that he understood Woods' decision.
Woods made a formal announcement that he will stage his comeback at the
Augusta National Golf Club.
Although he would have loved to play at the Arnold Palmer Invitational - a
tournament that he has never missed and which he has won twice in a row - Woods
said that he game was still not up to par and the timing simply wasn't right.
Tiger Woods has been away from the professional golfing scene since
Thanksgiving Eve when an event that first looked like a simple car accident,
snowballed into a Pandora's Box of infidelities and sex tales with at least 14
women.
Woods saw his fairytale life as he knew it start to disappear before his
eyes. Multi million dollar sponsors started to edge away, his wife moved out of
the family home with his children, the media stopped at nothing by delving into
the most sordid details of his affairs and golfing colleagues turned their back
on him,
However, Tiger Woods has finally decided to make a comeback, after his wife
returned home and his sponsors said that they would be willing to wait a little
while longer while he got his act into gear.
Tiger Woods' return to Augusta makes a lot of sense. Analysts believe that
the media will descend on the event and that, logistically, no other club is
able to handle the pressure the way this club can.
"Augusta is the one place in the world that you can really have control,"
said Arnold Palmer, justifying Tiger's decision, "and they will control
everything from the crowds to the situation that will be facing Tiger. I think
if there is a place in the world that you can do that and do it properly,
Augusta will do that."
