Tiger Woods playing the Masters ‘wouldn’t surprise’ Brandel Chamblee

Will he or won’t he?

With just a few days ahead of Masters week, the golf world waits and wonders if Tiger Woods will tee it up at Augusta on the 20th anniversary of his historic 1997 victory. Brandel Chamblee, for one, believes a Tiger start at Augusta is a real possibility and that the golf course could make a soft landing for the reentry of the oft-injured, four-time Masters winner.

“If you can believe anything that you read on social media, I know that his coach [Chris Como] has been down there and they have been hitting a lot of golf balls down in Palm Beach,” the Golf Channel analyst said during a Tuesday conference call. “So the way I understand it, he’s been practicing quite diligently. It wouldn’t surprise me if Tiger showed up at Augusta National.”

Woods, idle since he withdrew from the Dubai Desert Classic in February, can keep everyone guessing until his tee time for the first round a week from Thursday. As always when Tiger has been absent from competition, speculation about his short-, mid-, and long-term plans runs rampant.

Most immediate, of course, is the question of whether Woods’ bad back will allow him to go for his 15th major championship. During a recent media whirlwind promoting his new book chronicling his 12-shot 1997 Masters win, Woods appeared rather spry during a putting contest with Michael Strahan on Good Morning America.

Woods also said he was “trying everything” to get back to the Masters after missing last year’s tourney, and that he played Augusta so many times he knew what he had to do to be ready.

Chamblee believes the iconic venue could be a welcoming track for Woods.

“In some ways, it’s a somewhat forgiving golf course off the tee, so it can kind of seduce you into thinking, ‘yeah, maybe I can get it around there,’” Chamblee said. “Even when he was struggling with his short game, what was it, back in 2013, he showed up there and put together some pretty decent golf. So you know, in some ways, it can be a somewhat forgiving golf course; many others, quite cruel.”

It’s the cruel course that Colin Montgomerie worried might force Woods into a quick exit.

“If he does play,” Monty said during the teleconference, “I do hope that we’re not seeing Tiger bow out of the Masters fit and scoring 77, 78 and going home from there.”