Sponsers Care Less About Values When You’re Actually Golfing

…but Tiger may not be returning to the green for a while. Nike will have a lot more forgiveness in their hearts once Tiger starts tearing up the golf course. Rick Reilly was making a big deal of Tiger’s statement that he’s not ready to come back to golf, but what I heard in Tiger’s apology is that he’s not sure when he’ll come back — but it could be this year. In other words, it felt like he was making a big deal about putting sports aside until he fixed his marriage, but he was also leaving the door open if he wanted to come back soon. In doing so, maybe he hopes to shield himself from criticism that he’s returned too soon. I mean, he SAID he’d come back when everything was better, so if he’s at Arnold Palmer Invitational in March, well, everything must be better!

I’m also wondering how well Tiger will golf once he’s back golfing. Will all these newly exposed cracks in his perfect facade impact his mental game?