Why a Tiger Woods return at Quail Hollow may not be such a great idea

The Tiger Woods media circus may be unfolding its tents at Quail Hollow next week, if wowing spectators with a few swings during a junior clinic last week and intimations from anonymous Team Tiger sources are solid indications that his latest comeback is as imminent as the Wells Fargo Championship.

While stars of today (sans a jealous Rory McIlroy) helped Jordan Spieth get over his Masters meltdown with a Snapchat-chronicled #SB2K16 Bahamas bro-fest, the mystery of Michelle Wie’s future deepened after another injury-related WD on the LPGA, and high-profile players Adam Scott and Louis Oosthuizen dissed the Olympics, the focus as always remained a on guy who has not played competitively since August or lifted a trophy since 2013.

Woods has made many a return to competitive golf after hiatuses due to injuries and personal issues, including two he made to Quail Hollow in the past six years — both of which came to abrupt and early ends with missed cuts. Tiger insider Tim Rosaforte reported on Friday that the golf world should not be shocked to see Woods tee it up at next week’s Wells Fargo event.

“Not saying it will, but at the same time, don’t be surprised if it does,” Rosaforte said on Morning Drive about a possible Woods start at the May 5-9 PGA Tour event in Charlotte. “This is the logical choice.”

In the scheme of things -- after Woods’ shot-making exhibition at Sage Valley Club that reportedly included a 300-yard drive, which followed his “progressing nicely” home video, and reports he was up to five hours of practice and playing some holes on his home course -- a Tiger turnout in North Carolina may seem the next obvious step.

Add in comments that Tiger’s unofficial life coach Notah Begay III made to GolfChannel.com at that same clinic that his Stanford teammate was in the “back half of his progression” in his rebound from three back surgeries, and it seems clear that Woods is far closer to his next tour start than his last one nine months ago at the Wyndham Championship.

Nothing about Woods and his need to compete is surprising. If his back is truly healed, why not revisit a venue where he owns a victory (2007) and three additional top-11 finishes (T3 in 2004, T11/2005, T4/2009) in six starts?

Certainly, if Woods is healthy enough to get back on the course, he is targeting (and has officially registered for) the U.S. Open at Oakmont in June and will need as many of those vaunted reps as he can get before resuming his chase of Jack Nicklaus’ mark of 18 major titles.

“You have to play tournaments,” said Begay, who noted that Woods’ ball speed was better than 170 mph. “You have to put in the reps on the range, probably 300 to 500 balls a day, and just have to play tournaments. The combination of walking, swinging slightly faster in tournaments, and the stress and all of the focus you need in a tournament week.”

Only Woods and his medical team know if his back is ready to withstand the rigors of clashing on tour, let alone at the majors.

Former coach, Hank Haney, for one, scoffs at the notion that a few hours on the range is enough to get Woods back in the game.

“Four to five hours of practice. It’s nothing,” Haney said recently on his SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio show, “especially when your game was where it was last time.”

In addition to just one top-10 finish in two years (2015 Wyndham Championship), Haney cited statistics (unofficial since Woods did not play enough) befitting the 499th-ranked golfer in the world:

“There’s not a part of his game that wasn’t in need of some serious attention. And now you’ve sat out for six months and … now you’re practicing four to five hours a day and people act like he’s just coming back and he’s just going to tear it up,” Haney said.

“I’m not saying he’s never going to play good again,” Haney added. “It’s just a tall task to get your game back when it has slipped to the level that it has slipped.

“If it wasn’t for a lifetime exemption,” Haney observed with the knockout punch, “clearly he wouldn’t have kept his card last year.”

While even the most fervent of Tiger fans would likely discount the possibility of their man winning right off the bat, even with an earlier record of success at the course, Quail Hollow may not be the best place for Woods to launch his next rebound. He is a combined 11-over par in his two MCs in 2010 and 2012, including a 7-over 79 in 2010 that at the time was his worst professional round in the U.S.

He would also be diving back into the fray in a field teeming with stars including McIlroy, Rickie Fowler, Adam Scott and Dustin Johnson — all of whom would be relegated to bit players should Woods burst onto the scene.

The competition will only increase, but it would seem to make more sense for Woods to give himself some extra time to get ready and make a softer landing at either The Players Championship a week after the Wells Fargo or the Memorial, a month later. Most recent outings at both places were certainly not confidence-building (T69 at The Players, 71st at Memorial last year), but he won at TPC Sawgrass in 2013 and has five Ws at Jack’s place, including one four years ago.

It’s also possible that all this build-up to what many assume will be an imminent Tiger sighting on the PGA Tour is just Woods wanting to remain in the public eye as he continues his rehab and golf moves on without him. It was just earlier this month, when he announced he would skip the Masters, that he said he was “not physically ready [to return to the tour].

“I’ve said all along that this time I need to be cautious and do what’s best for my long-term health and career,” Woods said. “I’m absolutely making progress, and I’m really happy with how far I’ve come, but I still have no timetable to return to competitive golf.”

Woods’ agent, Mark Steinberg, continues to toe the company line.

“Chatter is just that,” Steinberg told ESPN.com late last week. “Literally nothing new to report. That is truth.”

Another truth? Woods has until Friday to commit to the Wells Fargo, so you know the drill: stay tuned …

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