End This Tiger Charade Already

It’s hard to say Tiger Woods’ imminent return at the Masters is good news for CBS, because the term “news” would indicate it wasn’t premeditated.From the start, the entire situation has been a sham, and one I can’t wait to see end. Woods was never - ever - going to miss a major in his rabid quest to win more than anyone else.

So now the batch of “news” reports that Woods may be back at Augusta is just the latest step in that plan.

While the whole exercise, his televised media statement included, has been a transparent insult - I will be sad to see it all end for one reason. From the start, the public relations strategy surrounding the “alleged” incident with his wife all the way until now has been a comical lesson in what not to do from a PR standpoint. And we could all use a good laugh once in a while. I get Ari Fleischer taking the gig; he absolutely could not do any worse than Woods’ previous jokers.

So now CBS will get its massive Masters ratings - as will NBC if Woods comes back at Bay Hill for a warm-up.

If I am wrong and Woods misses the Masters, I will be the first to admit my error immediately - there will be no attempted cover up - and I will even answer questions about it, not just release a statement.

But for now I remain insulted as a journalist, as a golf fan, and even as a parent - evidenced when my four-year-old picked up Golf Digest the other day and asked me when we could watch Tiger Woods play again.

“Pretty soon,” I told him, an answer I - and many others - have known since this whole charade began.