Tiger Woods plays a practice round at Augusta, status for the Masters still uncertain

If Tiger Woods’ private plane is cooling its jets at the airport closest to Augusta National, that can only mean one thing -- the “Will Tiger play?” guessing game has reached preposterous proportions.

Sure enough, Scott Michaux reported Tuesday morning that an aircraft with the same tail numbers as Woods’ Gulfstream G5 was parked at the terminal for private planes at Augusta Regional Airport.

The sighting of Tiger’s ride added new grist to the rumor mill that Tiger was practicing at Augusta this week in preparation for a return to competition at the Masters next week. Woods’ agent confirmed Woods did play 18 holes at Augusta on Tuesday, but there is still no decision on whether he will play in the Masters.

Woods went on an indefinite leave from the PGA Tour on Feb. 11 following terrible outings at the Phoenix Open, where he missed the cut, and at the Farmers Insurance Open, from which he withdrew after 11 shaky holes of the first round.

In issuing word of his break, he said he would rejoin the tour when his game was tournament-ready. In a later announcement, Woods said he would skip the Arnold Palmer Invitational but was hopeful he would be “ready for the Masters.”

Speculation has run wild since then about if, when and where Tiger would make his latest comeback, and especially if he could fix his short game in time for the men’s first major of the season. Woods missed the Masters for the first time in his career in 2014 after undergoing back surgery.

In the interim, Tiger intimate Notah Begay III said the chances that his friend would tee it up at Augusta starting April 9 were “50-50,” while golf insider Tim Rosaforte earlier this week said he expected Woods to make his first start since Feb. 5 next Thursday.

“I think Tiger Woods is going to play the Masters. I also think you’ll see him take a trip to Augusta National this week where he can practice in solitude without a camera on him,” Rosaforte said in GolfWorld on Monday.

“I base this not only on Notah Begay’s 50-50 prediction that got so much traction, but by some of the scores he’s been posting and the improvement he’s shown over the past two weeks up at Medalist Golf Club,” Rosaforte added. “Friends in Palm Beach are also saying ‘Tiger’s got the edge back.’”

While Tiger practicing doesn’t guarantee a Masters start, his arrival in Augusta and the report from Rosaforte are strong indicators that the four-time champ will make his return to the game next week.

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