By Harry King
LITTLE ROCK — The interview room in the media center at The Masters can easily accommodate more than 100 and it will be packed on the day that has been hanging over the head of Tiger Woods for months.
If it’s the Wednesday prior to the tournament, his only answers of interest will be those about the condition of his golf game.
Can he compete in the first major of 2010 without playing tournament golf for almost six months?
Did he get in a couple of practice rounds at Augusta National prior to this week?
What have Woods and instructor Hank Haney worked on in the past month?
Does the short game suffer the most when away from competition?
Others can ask about what he originally described as his “transgressions” and report his answers or his lack thereof.
Spare me the details. How many times he cheated on his wife and with whom, I don’t need to know. Specifics of his inpatient therapy for an addiction, I can do without.
He disappointed all who bought into the carefully crafted image of the perfect sports superstar with the perfect family. Celebrities have let down fans before. They will do it again.
So be it. Let’s move on.
Ever since Woods’ world and his image began to fall apart in late November, there has been speculation about when he would return to competitive golf.
From the competition standpoint, his decision to return in The Masters is surprising. From the PR perspective, it makes sense.
He could have eased back into competition next week in a two-day exhibition in Orlando or at the end of the week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. At either event, it might have been difficult to limit the media.
Not so at Augusta, which is privately owned. There, media credentials are hard to come by and the club’s policy won’t change for TMZ or other curious media.
Major media players have asked for interviews and if he agrees to talk with ESPN or HBO or Oprah Winfrey, he could stonewall at Augusta and refer all personal questions to the previous interview.
Woods acknowledged Tuesday that he will be asked about the sordid details when he said: “Although I’m returning to competition, I still have a lot of work to do in my personal life.”
That’s between Woods and wife Elin. He will be well prepped by Ari Fleischer, who helped Mark McGwire return to baseball with the St. Louis Cardinals.
All I want to know is what Woods thinks about the way Augusta National is set up.
The PGA Tour needs Woods. So do the TV networks that do golf.
He has been the man in three of the top five highest-rated Masters telecasts and his return to golf could break the record rating for his final round in 1997 when he won by 12 strokes.
Sports Illustrated quoted Sean McManus, president of CBS News and Sports, as saying Woods’ comeback could rank with President Obama’s inauguration as the biggest media event of recent years.
Just so we know how many putts Woods took on that first Thursday.
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Harry King is sports columnist for Stephens Media’s Arkansas News Bureau. His e-mail address is hking@arkansasnews.com.
