Tiger. Is. Back.

Tiger Woods, the most talked about man in sports in the past five months has finally chose when he will be coming back to the game of golf... 2010 Masters.  Like every situation with Tiger in the past five months, there is an array of opinions on whether this is a good move or a bad move.  I personally love it, and I will give you some reasons why. 

1.) No media/fan concerns- The Masters will not let any average joe just waltz into Augusta's crowd and people are not allowed to yell/run while watching the golfers.  Now this sounds more uptight than a girl wearing metal underwear but still for Tiger, this is the right play. He will not be annoyed by the TMZ or the gossip media, which will probably happen for the first time at Pebble Beach for the US Open. At Augusta, Tiger will be in his own little world.

2.) The love of Augusta- Ask any golfer from age fifteen to age eight-five they would probably give up their left ball to play at Augusta National, well maybe not that but at least their pancreas.  How could Tiger pass up the opportunity of playing Augusta because unlike the other majors, there is the chance to play their again sometime that year. 

3.) The Grand Slam possibility- The big white elephant in the room about this whole thing is if Tiger wins the first major of the year, we could be looking at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin to decide whether Woods can achieve the Grand Slam of Golf.  This is completely plausible with the next two majors being at Pebble Beach where Tiger throttled their US Open course, and St. Andrews, probably where Tiger plays the best overseas.  He didn't play well the first time in Kohler but who knows this time around.

4.) Ratings bonanza- Alright this is a selfish reason but really we all know that this will be the biggest sporting event of 2010.  There are maybe two or three things that could top this... (Cubs-Yankees World Series, Kobe-LeBron NBA Finals,)  I still think Tiger returning to Augusta will remain the biggest sporting spectacle this year. Don't think that just because Tiger hates the media, that he doesn't love being in the spotlight.

Jalen Rose reminded everyone on ESPN First Take "Remember when Jordan came back for the first time and dropped a double-nickel on the Knicks?"  "You don't forget to play the sport you excel at."  Exactly my thoughts about Tiger Woods, he will be competing if not winning the Masters come Sunday.

-Charlie.