When Will Tiger's Exile End? Let the Guessing Games Begin

So, just how long is an "indefinite" leave?

That's the question the PGA Tour now is contemplating after Tiger Woods announced he is taking a break from golf to work on his family-man skills.

"Part of me, when I read it, would like to think he's really serious in the statement and that he really does want to make things right at home," NBC golf analyst Gary Koch said in Naples, Fla., where he was broadcasting the Shark Shootout. "And he's going to do it, however long it takes, it takes.

"Then there's another part, the golfer side of me, that says, geez, I just can't believe he'll miss the Masters, or he'll miss the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, or the British Open in St. Andrews. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'll be amazed if he's not back by the Masters."

Woods turns 34 on Dec. 30. With 14 major championships, he's four behind Jack Nicklaus' all-time record. Also, with 71 career PGA Tour wins, Woods is 11 short of the record 82 held by Hall of Famer Sam Snead.

How patient is he willing to be?

It's pretty obvious Woods has become accustomed to getting whatever he wants. Even with sincere intentions, is he capable of giving away an extended amount of daylight hours that are the prime of his working life?

"You know, I saw the statement like everybody else," veteran Brad Faxon said. "That's about as much as I know. I know very little about what's really happened and what's going to happen.

"Shame on us for thinking that's all he went home to do -- think about golf and practice and that was it."
- Steve Stricker "Indefinite leave of absence ... I think we're all hoping Tiger comes back and he fixes everything he needs to fix, because we need him out here. He's such a dynamic personality on the golf course, and you want to have him out on the tour as soon as we can get him out here."

Contrary to many reports, many among the PGA Tour's inner circle insist they had no knowledge of or had even heard gossip regarding Woods' sexcapades.

"The question I get asked mostly is, 'Did you have any idea?' " Matt Kuchar said. "The answer is no. I had no idea. It's just a shock to all of us."

"Absolutely not," Koch said. "And I talked to players last weekend and this weekend. Absolutely not."

Woods, of course, is not the first prominent public figure to make a mess of his public life. The difference for him, however, is a squeaky-clean image was crafted and sold. A believing public now feels like it was sold oceanfront property in Iowa. Fans are angry and disillusioned.

"Yeah, I think it's unfair how we have built him up over the years," Steve Stricker said. "Obviously on the course he's one of a kind. No one really knows what he was like off the course. He's a tough guy to get around. He has his own little group.

"I know him strictly basically on the professional level. But I think it's a little unfair how we judged him. And really, shame on us for thinking that's all he went home to do -- think about golf and practice and that was it."

In the meantime, what is the impact on the tour that had become dependent on the attraction that was Woods?

MORE ON TIGER

• Mariotti: Tiger Will Never Recover
• Golf.com: A Lose-Lose Proposition
• Accenture Ends Sponsorship Deal
• Caddie Blasts ESPN's Reilly
• Latest Tiger Woods Stories

"It's a setback," Koch said. "I don't think there is any way to gloss that over and say it's not. The guy who is the face of the PGA Tour has proven to not be the person we all thought he was. That's a negative. He's not going to play for a whatever period of time next year. That will be a negative.

"We all know when he does not play, television ratings are down and golf is perceived to be not as good. So yeah, I think it will be a negative. Hopefully, it will be a short-term negative. He will be back. He'll get his family life in order. Look at athletes who have been through indiscretions and infidelities and came out of it OK. People tend to forgive and forget. Especially if he makes the concerted effort it sounds like he is actually going to do."

STAY IN SCHOOL: Before playing the final round of the Dubai Ladies Masters, where she shot 65 to finish second, Michelle Wie was up early to take a final-exam on-line that completed her semester at Stanford.

You have to admit, with a boat-load of endorsement money already banked and her first LPGA victory secured earlier this season, it would be easy for Wie to have lost interest in a college education.

"Well, I do believe that education is one of the most important things," she said. "I believe in that, ever since I started playing golf, before I started playing golf. And I just don't think that even if you become a professional athlete that you have to give up your education.

"Hopefully, I can send that message out there; that you can do both, you can go to school and you can come out here."

SHARK SIGHTING: Greg Norman, who had shoulder surgery in September, says he hopes to begin swinging a club by mid February.

"You know, it's still a little tight," Norman said during the Shark Shootout, the off-season Florida event he hosts. "There's still some motion I need to get back into it. It was a pretty excessive procedure in the whole process, but the doctor likes where it is right now. It's right on track. I'm just biding time and see what happens with it come the end of February."

NOTES: Not a bad December for Rickie Fowler, the former Oklahoma State All-American. Last week he advanced through PGA Tour qualifying and earned exempt status for next season. Then he drove from West Palm Beach, Fla., across the state to Naples, to play in the Shark Shootout, where he teamed with Chris DiMarco, and on Sunday, his 21st birthday, finished seventh and shared $165,000. ...

Even though Accenture is ending its sponsorship relationship with Woods, it's not all bad news for the beleaguered golfer. Reports are that Playgirl magazine is no longer considering the publications of alleged nude photos of him. ...

According to Australian Associated Press, former British Open champ and CBS golf commentator Ian Baker-Finch has been told by the network not to comment on Woods.

"Mate, if I say one word about Tiger I will get fired," Baker-Finch said before playing in an Australian tournament this weekend.