PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Even when he is not playing in a tournament, Tiger Woods often is the elephant in the room that week.
It is impossible to ignore his presence — even when he is not present. Take this week’s Honda Classic at PGA National, which happens to be about a 15-minute drive from Woods’ Jupiter Beach home, as an example.
Without stepping foot on the grounds, Woods — who is out indefinitely while he rehabs from October back surgery (his third back procedure) — has been in the news this week in some direct or indirect manner.
The week began with a two reports from Twitter accounts that claimed Woods’ back was in such bad shape he has been unable to drive a car — seen being driven around reclined in the passenger seat because he is unable to sit up.
On Monday night, photos of Woods, looking comfortable and with perfect posture, posing with fellow PGA Tour players Tony Finau and Scott Pinckney at his restaurant, The Woods Jupiter, surfaced on Finau’s Twitter account.
On Tuesday, Woods’ representative, Mark Steinberg, issued a vehement denouncement of the report of his demise, calling it rubbish.
On Wednesday, Woods — in a figurative middle finger salute to those who have been portraying him as being one step away from being in traction — posted a video of himself hitting an iron shot at an indoor simulator. It was accompanied by the simple message: “Progressing nicely.’’
On Thursday, Woods was pictured in that group photo of potential Ryder Cup players who were invited to a dinner party at Jack Nicklaus’ North Palm Beach home.
It was at that dinner, which some 25 players and U.S. Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III attended, that Jimmy Walker approached Woods and quipped, “Wow, you’re standing up. You’re not dead.’’
“Yeah, everyone thinks I’m dead,’’ Walker said Woods responded.
Phil Mickelson, asked if he had a chance to speak to Woods on Thursday night, was somewhat evasive.
“We saw him there,” Mickelson said. “He was fun, social, laughing. We had a good time. It was fun to be around.’’
Asked as a joke whether he gave Woods a “slap’’ on the back, Mickelson said, “Uh, no, I didn’t do that.’’
Then Mickelson added a peculiarly indifferent comment when he asked, “Was it his back or his knee that he had surgery on?’’
It’s difficult to imagine Mickelson not being aware of Woods’ exact ailment.
The bottom line is this: The only thing Woods hasn’t done during Honda Classic week is physically be at PGA National as a part of the ongoing competition.
The consistent feeling among the players who saw Woods at Nicklaus’ home Thursday night was that Woods was in good spirits and looked physically healthy.
“Tiger looked great, looked in great shape,’’ Billy Horschel told ESPN.com. “I saw him in the Bahamas at the Hero World Challenge [in December] and he was in rough shape. [Thursday] night he looked really good.
“Mentally, he’s in the same spot he was in December in the sense he’s at peace with everything. But physically he’s in a lot better shape and that’s what he told me. He said he’s excited to be progressing and hopefully he’ll get back out here and kick our [butts].’’
Even though no one — not even his caddie, Joe LaCava — knows when or if Woods will play again this year, Love went as far as to say he is not ruling out Woods playing on the Ryder Cup team in late September. As of now, Woods is slated to be one of Love’s vice captains.
“If he can play 10 or 12 tournaments in a row, I think he can get his game back and make our team,’’ Love said. “Tiger is very adamant he can handle both roles. I think Tiger will work hard enough … if his body will allow it.
“He’s swinging in a simulator I saw, so he must be getting better. He looked great. He always looks good. He looked fit. Looked happy.”
It all leads to the question everyone in golf wants the answer to: When will Woods play again?
“Tiger Woods is still perhaps the biggest story in golf,’’ NBC analyst David Feherty said recently. “It’s remarkable how relevant he is given how poorly he’s played over the last two or three years, but he still moves the needle. He’s such an interesting story.
“I look forward to seeing him play well again. He’s the most remarkable athlete I’ve ever seen in 40 years of being a professional golfer. It was like watching a creature from another planet when he came out.’’