Tiger's Coming Back: Woods Will Play In Masters Next Month

With Tuesday's announcement from Tiger Woods, not only did it become official that he would be making his return to golf at the Masters in April, but it also meant that for the first time ever, he would not be participating at Bay Hill. This is news about which host Arnold Palmer was disappointed to learn (obviously).

"We are all disappointed that Tiger isn’t going to play our tournament at Bay Hill, but, all things considered, we certainly understand," Palmer said.

"I talked to Tiger on the phone this morning and he expressed his regrets that he won’t be playing here. He said that he really didn’t feel his game was sharp enough to begin competition this early."

"As for Tiger’s decision to play at the Masters without playing a tournament beforehand, that’s something only the player himself knows how to handle. Certainly he knows what he wants to do with his life and the way he is going to deal with it. We’re going to give him that respect."

Here is the full statement from Tiger Woods, released to the public Tuesday morning, in which he addresses his return to golf at the Masters next month:

"The Masters is where I won my first major and I view this tournament with great respect. After a long and necessary time away from the game, I feel like I’m ready to start my season at Augusta.

“I would also like to thank the Augusta National members and staff for their support. I have deep appreciation for everything that they do to create a wonderful event for the benefit of the game.”

Surely it’s purely coincidental that Tiger and his people decided to release this statement during the late morning hours of one of the slowest news days of the year, right?

Tiger Woods will make his return to competitive golf at the Masters in Augusta next month, according to a statement he released on Tuesday.

It may seem like a risky move for Woods to make his return at such a high-profile event without playing any warm-up tournaments, but as we pointed out last week, the Masters offers him a controlled environment. The press corps is much smaller and more respectful, and the galleries are better behaved.

The Masters will be Woods' first tournament since November 15th of last year. They begin play in Augusta on April 8th.

For more on everything Tiger Woods, check out SB Nation's Trailing Tiger.

According to the Associated Press, which cites "two people with knowledge of [Tiger's] plans," Tiger Woods is set to make his return to golf at The Masters.

This of course would mean that he is not planning to play in the Andrew Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill on Mar. 25, as was previously reported earlier on Thursday. The Masters tees off on April 8.

While it is still just an anonymous report (the two sources "spoke on condition of anonymity because only Woods is supposed to release such information"), having The Masters serve as his first time back on the course makes sense, even it it means forgoing a warm-up event like Bay Hill. Simply, there are few clubs that can offer Woods a controlled environment.

He will face only the questioning of accredited media -- if he even agrees to conduct a press conference -- which at the Masters means mostly domesticated golf writers, not the wild animals of the tabloid press.

The galleries, meanwhile, are the most respectful in golf, so Woods won't have to worry about hecklers or anything worse than lukewarm applause.

It would also most likely mean Woods would be playing without much of a chance at competing (he hasn't played in a tournament since Nov. 15). A small price to pay, perhaps, for a somewhat subdued return to golf.

For more on everything Tiger Woods, check out SB Nation's very own Tiger blog, Trailing Tiger.