He's Baaack

I have to admit, I didn't see this coming:

Tiger Woods’ comeback from back surgery will begin next week at the Quicken Loans

National that he is hosting at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md.

Woods, who has not played since the WGC-Cadillac Championship in early March, made the announcement on his Facebook page.

As I recall, he had surgery on March 31st, so this is definitely at the quick end of the speculations.  And what did Tiger himself have to say?

“After a lot of therapy I have recovered well and will be supporting my foundation next week at the Quicken Loans National,” he wrote. “I've just started to hit full shots but it's time to take the next step. I will be a bit rusty but I want to play myself back into competitive shape. Excited for the challenge ahead.”

That's relatively consistent with what I had heard, as rumors started circulating about 48 hours prior to the announcement that he was making full swings.   It's understandable that he wants to support his own event and Washington, D.C. should be suitably warm and sticky for a guy with a back to protect, but I can't help a nagging suspicion that he's pushing the envelope.  Of course my only frame of reference is Graham DeLaet's experience, where it took him most of a full year to make it fully back.

Jeff Rude is on the same wavelength, considering it a surprise as follows:

One, he only recently started making full swings. Two, people in his camp on Wednesday seemed to be leveling when they said they were uncertain when he would come back from March 31 microdiscectomy surgery. One figured the odds of his playing the July 17-20 Open at 50-50. 

Three, in making the announcement via Facebook, Woods said he will be a “bit rusty,” but wants to play his way back into “competitive shape.” That’s a departure from the modus operandi of the majority of his career, when he wouldn't show up unless he was totally prepared and felt he could win.

His last point is a tad silly, as the history Jeff is citing relates to early season events.  Yes, we've seen him show up at Torrey coming of an injury and dust the field.  The issue here is that he wants to deal with that rust before Hoylake in mid-July.  His only other viable option to tee it up at the Greenbrier 4th of July weekend, as Tiger doesn't do Quad Cities.

And that leads us to speculate as to whether he'll be risking further injury or setback from coming back too soon.  The fact that he took his own people by surprise means our concerns are not frivolous, but there's only one guy that knows how it feels.  And even he can't know for sure whether he might be pushing too hard... but it at least gives us a reason to tune in.