Is Tiger Woods Closer to Retiring Than He's Leading Us to Believe?

Is Tiger Woods closer to retiring than many, including his peers, may believe?

That’s a question that has been on the mind of many for a while now considering he’s undergone multiple surgeries on his back and hasn’t played a competitive round since August 2015.

Woods showed up to the Quicken Loans National at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland for a ceremonial shot that turned into a very surprising, and pretty sad, three shots. All of Woods attempts at landing a ball on a green just a mere 100 yards away came up short, and two of them weren’t even close to hitting land. During the interview that preceded the painful display of golf by one of the greatest to ever play the game, Woods gave plenty of answers that would lead us all to believe that he will be returning.

When asked about his health, Woods said, “Uh, health? I feel good. My kids are sick, but I feel good.”

He then went on to vaguely list things he’s been doing while at home away from the spotlight, none of which were actual answers and were more of the same we’ve heard for the last year, but what we saw during those three shots seems to say something different. Could it have been that Woods wasn’t “warmed up?” Possibly, but this is a man who is second in PGA Tour wins and second in major championships and still believes that becoming first in both of those categories is “attainable.”

That led to more questions about his return, which Tiger danced around with cryptic answers like, “People have written me off,” “I’m not fertilizer,” “If I knew, I’d tell you,” and, “Just give me a little time.”

From that, it’s easy to assume that Tiger does plan on returning to the game eventually, just not right now.

After the interviews and shots were over, Woods dropped a few lines to Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post that seem to say something a different than his toting the Woods company line.

On the way to the parking lot, Svrluga asked Woods whether or not he could envision himself returning to Congressional as a host in a role similar to that of Jack Nicklaus at the Memorial.

"TW: “Mmmmm-hmmmm,” he said, lips pursed. “Yep.” Really? How and why? TW: “Ask me that question later this year,” he said. “I’ll have a different answer.” Huh? TW: “You’ll see,” he said, and he smiled."

What the hell does that mean? That’s more cryptic than giving a half-ass answer about a return date and sort of sounds like a man who may be thinking, “Screw it. I’m out.”

Woods booked accommodations for the Memorial and the Players and registered for the U.S. Open, but told Svrluga that, “I also accepted my invitation to the Masters, too.”

It’s starting to appear more and more like Tiger Woods may return to golf for one last rodeo, be it a major tournament or to play in the Quicken Loans National in 2017, and then assume the ceremonial role of tournament host.

So is Woods returning soon? I have no clue.

Is Woods retiring soon? I have no clue.

I’m not sure Tiger knows either.