Golf:Speculation has intensified that world number one Tiger Woods will make his return to competitive action at the WGC Match Play Championship which gets under way in Arizona from February 17th.
Woods announced in December that he was taking an indefinite break from the game after admitting he had cheated on his Swedish wife Elin Nordegren.
The media frenzy spiralled out of control following a bizarre early morning crash outside his Florida home last November, before his squeaky-clean image was torn apart by allegations of extra-marital affairs.
Since then many have guessed as to when Woods might return to the game with a general consensus he would target the four majors, beginning with the Masters at Augusta in April.
However, reports have emerged that Woods may in fact tee it up at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Dove Mountain the week after next.
It remains to be seen if the 34-year-old will tee it up in Arizona but he has until next Friday (12th) to state his intention to organisers.
A stumbling block might be that Accenture sponsor the WGC event and they were one of the companies to drop Woods after he admitted “transgressions”.
The flip side of this coin is he may use the tournament as way to re-engage with the company again, but it is all speculation sta this stage.
When Woods does decide to return many have offered their advice as to how it should be handled given the heightened media appetite.
Veteran Tom Watson, competing in Dubai this week, suggested Woods should show some humility on his return.
"When he (Woods) comes back, he has to show some humility to the public," the 60-year-old, eight-time major winner said.
"If I were him, I'd come back not at a golf tournament but out in public first.
"I would do an interview with somebody and say: 'You know what, I screwed up. I'm going to change, I am trying to change. I want my wife and family back, I have to earn her trust back'. That's what Tiger is going to have to do."
New York communications specialist Michael Gordon agreed: "If Tiger wants to minimise the scrutiny he'll get on tour, he has to proactively manage the situation by doing an interview before his first event back,"
"By doing that, he can regain some of the control he's lost over his public image."
The last time Woods competed was at the Australian Masters in Melbourne where he won the tournament in November - 12 days before the crash.
Woods has won 14 majors and is chasing Jack Nicklaus’ all-time record of 18.