Tiger Woods announced on his website Wednesday that he plans to skip the Honda Classic to work on his game, although he does leave the door open for a potential return, saying he'd "like to play."
My play, and scores, are not acceptable for tournament golf...I'd like to play The Honda Classic -- it's a tournament in my hometown and it's important to me -- but I won't be there unless my game is tournament-ready. That's not fair to anyone. I do, however, expect to be playing again very soon.
With disappointing showings at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and the Farmers Insurance Open, it makes sense that Tiger would want some time to focus on his game. The downside, of course, is that it could leave him with relatively competitive rounds before the Masters.
If Tiger doesn't play the Honda, as seems the case, the only other tournament he's likely to play before the Masters is the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. His statement seems to leave the door open to both possibilities -- that he'll either play twice before the Masters or not at all -- so we'll be sure to keep an eye on this story as it continues to develop.
In retrospect, the whole situation was actually rather anti-climactic. Rumors earlier in the day about a forthcoming announcement had people contemplating the unthinkable: *Could Tiger Woods be about to retire? *That doesn't seem likely, but ultimately, no one's really sure what the statement means.
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