Why Tiger Woods Must Lay Low
 

Why Tiger Woods Must Lay Low to Guarantee Full Health at the Masters


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We should not be seeing Tiger Woods in a competitive round of golf until the Masters.

That is the caution that Woods must use. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be happening.

According to ESPN (per an Interview with ABC's Good Morning America), Woods plans on playing at Bay Hill.

Woods withdrew from the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral on the 12th hole Sunday because of soreness in his left Achilles. He later said he expected to play next week's Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, his final start before the Masters.

Given all of the injuries that Woods has suffered throughout his career, there is no need for this. Doctors can say that he's okay to play and that's fine, but this is the time to be cautious.

Remember, this is a guy that hasn't won a major since limping around Torrey Pines at the 2008 U.S. Open.

It was a dramatic win, but it cost Woods the rest of that season, and he's clearly not been the same golfer since.

Last season had a similar feel to it.

After injuring himself at the Masters, Tiger played in the Players Championship, withdrew after nine holes, and we didn't see him again until August.

So now, here we are a year later. Woods had to withdraw from a tournament, walking off of the course with an injury. Obviously, something wasn't right there.

Whether the doctor says that he's clear or not, what is the real point of coming back only two weeks later?

Woods has nothing to gain at this point. His form is clearly back, as he's now at least in outside contention in nearly every tournament he enters.

Really, the only thing that would be a dramatic setback at this point would be an injury.

The bottom line is that this quick off of an injury, it's too easy to re-aggravate something, or to put extra pressure on other body parts to avoid another injury.

None of this adds up. The fact that he's healthy is certainly positive news, but coming back early risks a setback and a reversion to the Tiger that we saw a lot of in 2010 and 2011.

Under just about any circumstance, I would say that Woods needs to play whenever possible.

But when the reason not to play is a potential injury, there is way too much on the line, especially since the tournament in question is not a major.

Tiger is much better off laying back, resting the Achilles (and the rest of his body) and entering The Masters completely fresh.

Remember, in 2010 he made his season debut at Augusta and finished fourth.

Given the way he's playing this year, Tiger is already a real threat to win there. The only thing that would change that would be another injury.