Tiger Woods, swinging fully, closer to British Open start?

Tiger Woods, whose absence caused TV ratings to tank for the second straight major championship he missed, has not played in competition since March 9 but that did not stop bookmakers from making him the odds-on favorite to win the British Open in little more than a month.

While expecting the former world No. 1 to jump from recovery from back surgery right back into contention in less than a month may be a tad optimistic, his presence at Hoylake could actually come to pass.

“Great news for the world of golf, especially with ratings down 70 percent over the weekend, Tiger not part of the mix,” Tim Rosaforte announced on Golf Channel’s “Morning Drive” on Tuesday. “He was out at Medalist Golf Club this past weekend, hitting full shots, including driver.”

As Rosaforte noted, Woods’ presence on the range at the Florida club where both the 14-time major champion and the Golf Channel broadcaster are members does not guarantee a Tiger sighting any time soon, let alone in England for the Open Championship. But the report that Woods is moving in the right direction must be welcome news to the golf world, which has watched TV ratings plummet in the wake of Woods’ March 31 microdiscectomy.

“Let’s not read too much into this as it relates to next week [Woods’ June 26-June 29 Quicken Loans National] or the Open Championship because just because he’s hitting balls doesn’t mean that he’s ready to be tournament-competitive,” Rosaforte cautioned. “However, obviously tremendous news as it relates to where he is with the condition of his back and also his overall health.”

Rosaforte noted that many observers believed Woods would not make it back to competition this season, and he still may not, though Woods said he would need two weeks to get tourney-ready once he was able to swing completely. But any sign of progress in the comeback of the PGA Tour’s cash cow must have commissioner Tim Finchem and the rest of the suits in Ponte Vedra heaving a bit of a sigh of relief.

With Woods on the DL for for the Masters and the Players Championship -- not actually a grand slam event but billed as the so-called “fifth major” -- ratings were abysmal and that did not change for last week’s coronation of Martin Kaymer as the 2014 U.S. Open champion.

We’re not sure where Rosaforte got the 70-percent figure, but Sunday’s viewership was way down from last year at Merion, when Justin Rose handed Phil Mickelson his record sixth runner-up finish, according to SportsBusiness Daily’s assistant managing editor, Austin Karp.

The now two-time major champion certainly proved not as TV-worthy as Rory McIlroy was when he earned his first of two major titles by conquering Congressional Country Club by the same eight-stroke margin as Kaymer did at Pinehurst.

Ticket sales also took a beating, with reseller StubHub blaming Woods’ no-show, the non-metropolitan venue, and lack of popular names in contention down the stretch for the 65 percent drop in average ticket prices compared with last year. Average prices for Sunday’s finish nose-dived from $150 in 2013 to $98 in 2014, StubHub spokesperson Cameron Papp told SBNation on Monday.

Perhaps better times are ahead for those who count on Tiger filling the seats -- outside the ropes and on the recliners at home.

“The fact that he’s out there taking full cuts is a great sign for the game of golf,” Rosaforte said, “and also for him.”