Tiger Woods could return as early as next month, says Notah Begay

The Tiger Woods Watch is back on, after Golf Channel analyst and Tiger insider Notah Begay III said Friday that his old friend may attempt yet another comeback sometime next month.

Woods last week announced his balky back would keep him out of his second straight Masters and that, as has become the norm when the ailing superstar goes back on the disabled list, there was no timetable for his return.

Begay apparently believes there is a date by which Woods expects to get back into competition.

“Tiger’s doing well … if there was another two weeks and he could have gotten maybe one start in before the Masters it would have been a different story,” Begay said on The Rich Eisen Show.

Woods has not played competitively since February when back spasms forced him to withdraw from the Dubai Desert Classic prior to the second round.

Begay noted that, as difficult a challenge as Augusta has provided so far, Woods was wise to skip this year’s tilt.

“This wasn’t the type of event that you could just show up at, especially with … some of the toughest scoring conditions that we’ve seen in the last 20 years. It was the second-highest scoring average since 2007 yesterday,” Begay said. “Probably wouldn’t have been the best place for Tiger to start the year out after this most recent latest setback and I think we should probably look at maybe something just after The Players Championship.”

Between the Players (May 11-14) and the U.S. Open (June 15-18) — which Begay believes Woods has targeted to start — are three PGA Tour events: the AT&T Byron Nelson; Dean & DeLuca Invitational; and the Memorial. While Woods missed the cut in his last appearance at the Byron Nelson in 2005, the Memorial, where he has won five times, would seem to be the most likely landing spot for him.

“Oh, it’s a definite possibility,” Begay said about Woods teeing it up at the U.S. Open at Erin Hills. “That’s probably the event that’s circled on his calendar, but he’s got to at least get one or two starts in before that to see where his body, where his game’s at and if he can hit the shots he wants to hit.”

As for the Woods the golf world can expect to see, Begay said it won’t be the explosive dominator of old whose power and length off the tee forced Augusta officials to “Tiger-proof” the course way back when.

“I think it’s going to be a Tiger that still has ability to make as many birdies as players in the rest of the field but that can’t really overpower a golf course like a Dustin Johnson, or Brooks Koepka, or a Rory McIlroy,” Begay said.

Begay suggested that Woods had lost his fast ball and that, like an aging pitcher, would have to rely more on finesse.

“His clubhead speed is still in the 118-120 mph [range], which is plenty for the modern game but he’s not going to reach that 125-plus that some of these guys can dig down and hit,” he added. “So he’s going to have to be more methodical and work his way around certain courses and just realize that where par might be 70 for him, on most courses it’s not going to be a 68 that he was used to for the better part of a decade.”

Begay offered a hint about what Woods might do once his playing career is over — beyond owning a restaurant, designing golf courses, and other business ventures.

“I don’t think that would be the worst thing in the world,” Begay said about the possibility that his former Stanford teammate could end up in the broadcast booth. “We certainly would love to have him at NBC/Golf Channel.”