Tiger Woods remains in hiding with Masters just 1 week away

Tiger Woods, to no one’s surprise, will not compete in this week’s Shell Houston Open. That means that if Woods puts Augusta on his itinerary he’ll start the Masters in little more than a week in the wake of 47 of the worst holes of golf he has ever played.

Woods has never played in the Houston event and normally stays away from competition the week before the Masters. Of course, this is no ordinary time for the former world No. 1 but since he was not expected in the Lone Star State for the second stop on the abbreviated Texas swing there’s really been no change in Woods’ immediate plans.

But that has not stopped the head-scratching about what’s next for Tiger. Indeed, wondering where Woods will play his next competitive round of golf has become quite the guessing game among PGA Tour players and followers.

Woods has been on hiatus since he announced on February 11 that he would not return to the tour until he worked his game back into tournament shape. That followed a gaudy 82 (his worst score as a pro) and a missed cut at the Phoenix Open and a withdrawal after just 11 holes from the Farmers Insurance Open.

When he said he would skip the Arnold Palmer Invitational for the second straight year, Woods said he hoped to be ready for the Masters, which he missed in 2014 for the first time in his professional career. Since then, Palmer suggested there would be no Tiger sighting at Augusta come April 9, defending champion Bubba Watson said he expected the four-time green-jacketed golfer to play, and Woods whisperer Notah Begay III put the odds of his friend resuming his quest for major No. 15 at 50-50.

Woods, like all past winners, has a lifetime pass into the tournament. Unlike other tourneys, the Masters has no deadline by which Woods must commit to play, so his decision -- one way or the other -- could come moments before his scheduled first-round tee time.

Though Woods’ whereabouts on April 9 continue to remain a mystery, his standing in the world rankings for the men’s first major of the season is certain to be outside the top 100 for the first time since 1996. Tiger, 104th after last week’s Valero Texas Open, was ranked 433rd when he turned pro that year but rocketed up to 75th after his first win as a professional at the 1996 Las Vegas Invitational.

Woods had his first stint atop the rankings after a T19 finish at the 1997 U.S. Open. He has spent a record 683 weeks as No. 1, and last lost that perch when Adam Scott usurped his position in May 2014.