Golf Monday Practice

Golf Monday Practice

Biggest Golf Star Will Come Back

It has been nearly two months since our No.1 golfer announced he was stepping away from golf world to sort out a private life. And the thing is, may be little has changed during his absence. How much will the PGA Tour miss Woods?

There are only three weeks for the PGA Tour go into its new season. There are three events that Woods usually doesn't play with his Titleist Scotty Cameron Studio Select New Port 2 putter and not as many people watch golf during those weeks, from behind the ropes or on the sofa. Not when the tournaments are played on two islands in the Pacific or four courses in the California desert. Not when they are held the same weekend as NFL playoffs.

It's the first tournament on network television. It's where Woods and his chief rival, Phil Mickelson, typically start their seasons.This might be the only PGA Tour event in history that had four names in the span of one year. General Motors filed for bankruptcy, knocking out Buick as the title sponsor. The tournament only found a replacement last week, and Wilson is optimistic that Farmers will be interested in signing on for more than just this year.

It would have helped to have Woods around this week, bringing the energy and crowds that once accompanied him. Woods has only missed this tournament once when healthy, in 1997 when he was playing for appearance money overseas and won the Asian Honda Classic by 10 shots over Mo Joong-Kyung. He had to skip last year while recovering from knee surgery, although he still managed to steal some headlines by announcing hours after the final round that his wife had given birth to their son, Charlie. Now is the time to start measuring TV ratings, which traditionally spike when Woods is in contention.

Torrey Pines has become the tour's signature stop on the West Coast Swing, awarded the prime spot on the calendar between the NFL's conference championship games and the Super Bowl. It's no surprise that its TV ratings has dwarfed everything else on the West Coast, helped in part by Woods winning five of the last six times he played.

The difference now, of course, is not only what's keeping him away but the uncertainty of when he will return. At now, players have accepted that Woods is on leave and that his personal life is a wreck. There really is nothing else to say beyond the daily dose of gossip. What really happened that night he drove his SUV over a fire hydrant and into a tree? Is he really at a sex addiction clinic in Mississippi? Did his wife participate in the program? Does their marriage have a chance? And there is the bigger question which no one can answer is when he will return.

Rocco Mediate is back at Torrey Pines for the first time since that 19-hole playoff loss to Woods in the 2008 U.S. Open. Mediate missed last year with a knee injury, which largely went unnoticed. He went to the putting green Monday and told his caddie, ''A little different here.'' Missing were thousands of fans surrounding the green, a practice range on the North Course, grandstands galore.

Missing was his adversary that day, Tiger Woods. ''Yeah, that's really different,'' Mediate said. ''Any time he's not in the field, it's obviously not the best field we have. You always want your best guy. It always makes it what it's supposed to be, especially (since) he's won here 712 times. So it's hard to beat that guy here.'' A year ago, Woods missed only Torrey Pines as part of his regular schedule.

Tiger woods’ absence will continue to capture attention if he's not at the Match Play Championship. Watney have ever said ''I hope it would be that he's coming back, because we need him.'' Yes, we all need him and miss him, but when he will come back?

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