He’s baaaaaaaack.

Well, at least for one round.

Tiger “I Got 99 Problems With My Golf Swing But My Ex-Wife Ain’t One” Woods shot a 6- under 65 in the first round of The Barclays in Paramus, New Jersey.

He sits on top of the leaderboard tied for the lead with Vaughn Taylor.

It was easily Woods best round of golf all year, just days after his divorce with Elin Nordegren was finalized.

All it took was one good round for the discussion to shift towards Woods breaking Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 major titles.

“I look at it this way,” Woods said, “[Ben] Hogan won all nine of his [majors] at my age and older. I think for every kid out there, the goal is to get there. That is the benchmark in our sport, and that’s still my goal.”

While that might be the ultimate long term goal, the short term goal should be at least one win before the end of this year.

With another round like Thursday’s, Woods could be well on his way to achieving that accomplishment.

Ladies, look out.

(And by ladies, I mean the ones of the Caucasian persuasion.)

Tiger Woods is a single man again.

Woods and Elin Nordegren are officially divorced as the paperwork was filed in Bay County Circuit Court in the Florida Panhandle.

Woods and Nordegren will “share parenting” of their two children, Sam and Charlie.

“We are sad that our marriage is over and we wish each other the very best for the future,” they said in a statement released by attorneys. “While we are no longer married, we are the parents of two wonderful children and their happiness has been, and will always be, of paramount importance to both of us.”

How soon before Woods wins a tournament now that he’s single and can focus on his game again?

Tiger Woods get an A for effort (and a F- for his foul mouth) but his attempt to win his fifth green jacket at The Masters following a 20-week layoff came up short on Sunday.

And of all the guys to win, Phil Mickelson, his biggest rival on the PGA Tour, won by three strokes over Lee Westwood.

It was good to finally give a damn about golf once again with Woods back but a victory in his first tournament back might have been asking too much of Woods.

He showed glimpses of greatness at times but his swing gradually got worse during the weekend, a possible sign of rust.

When will we see Woods back on the golf course? Not even he knows at the moment.

“I’m going to take a little time off and kind of re-evaluate things,” Woods said.

You can mark it down now that he will be back in time for the U.S. Open in June.

Till then,we will have to wait and see.

Uhh…

Earl Woods, is that you?

I love a good Nike commercial like the next guy but this new Tiger Woods spot is just a little out there for me.

You have to wonder what Earl would have to say about this if he were still alive.

What do you think of the commercial?

(P.S. Give me Tiger to win The Masters over the field)

The Tiger Woods comeback has reached the one-on-one interview stage with the golfer talking to ESPN’s Tom Rinaldi on Sunday.

Nothing was off limits for Rinaldi, but Woods didn’t answer the question we all want to know, which is what happened on the night of Nov. 27.

This is all part of the master plan in preparation for his 2010 debut at the Masters in three weeks.

In case you missed the interview, you can watch it. Waste of time or insightful comments from Woods?

If you had The Masters in the “When will Tiger Woods return pool?,” you’re a winner.

And the real losers are the rest of the golfers on the PGA Tour as the world’s best golfer is back.

In typical Tiger form, he released a statement to announce his return on Tuesday, wasting no time with a warm up tournament and going straight for his fifth green jacket.

“The Masters is where I won my first major and I view this tournament with great respect. After a long and necessary time away from the game, I feel like I’m ready to start my season at Augusta,” Woods said in a statement.

“The major championships have always been a special focus in my career and, as a professional, I think Augusta is where I need to be, even though it’s been a while since I last played.”

Let me translate for you:

Tiger is coming to whoop that ass.

If you thought he was focused while out on the course before this incident, I have a feeling once he shakes off the rust that you’re going to see a more dominant Woods than years past.

All it will take is one victory for the media, hecklers and haters to get off his back about his personal life and back on golf.

Get em, Tiger.

Now that Tiger Woods is reportedly back home in Orlando and out of rehab, the question remains, “Can he bounce back?”

And no, I don’t mean on the golf course. There’s no doubt that once Woods shakes the rust off that he will be his old, dominant self.

But with the fans, that’s another story.

According to a ABC/ESPN poll conducted between Feb. 25-28, 54 percent of over 1,000 respondents said that Woods was sincere when he said he was sorry for the damage done by his admitted extramarital affairs. Twenty-two percent didn’t believe it, and 24 percent had no opinion.

Woods though only had a 39 percent approval rating, a huge decline from 2000 when he was at 88 percent.

Winning cures everything and if Woods is putting on the green jacket at The Masters in April, you can expect that percentage to rise significantly.

Will Gatorade and Gillette come crawling back? Probably not.

But Nike will continue to stand by their man, through thick and thin (and copious amounts of average looking jump-offs), so it’s all good for Woods.

With rumors swirling that Tiger Woods escaped to Africa, Vanity Fair released their February cover, shot by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz.

The photos were shot before Tiger’s world was turned upside down the morning after Thanksgiving and the issue will feature several shirtless photos of the golfer.

The choice of photo for the cover raises some eyebrows to say the least.

When have you known Tiger to look like a reject from the HBO prison drama Oz?

The weights in his hand is one thing, but the black beanie cap?

You won’t catch broke ass Annie ever snapping her camera in front of me.

Let’s not forget the last time a Black superstar was on the cover of a major non-sports magazine (ie: LeBron James on Vogue), guess who shot that photo?

Ding, ding, ding!

What are your thoughts on the magazine cover? Crossing the line or another mistake on Tiger’s part?

When it rains, it pours.

The troubling news continues to pour in about Tiger Woods, but this time it doesn’t involve a woman.

It has to do with Anthony Galea, who was arrested at the United States-Canadian border and is being investigated by the FBI for providing athletes with performance-enhancing drugs.

He was arrested two months ago and was found with human growth hormone, which is banned by the World Anti- Doping Agency, and Actovegin, a drug extracted from calf’s blood.

Galea treated Woods witb platelet-rich plasma therapy on four separate occasions earlier this year in Florida.

There’s nothing illegal about the therapy Woods received and the PGA Tour said on Tuesday that nothing in the New York Times story suggest Tiger did anything to break their drug policy.

But considering the media attention Woods has received in the last three weeks, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the media is looking to turn a non-story into a witch hunt.

What will they dig up next about Tiger?

Looks like Tiger Woods won’t have to leave his house anytime soon.

The golfer, who has only communicated to the world via his website for the last two weeks, announced today that he’s taking an indefinite leave from golf.

I am deeply aware of the disappointment and hurt that my infidelity has caused to so many people, most of all my wife and children. I want to say again to everyone that I am profoundly sorry and that I ask forgiveness. It may not be possible to repair the damage I’ve done, but I want to do my best to try.

I would like to ask everyone, including my fans, the good people at my foundation, business partners, the PGA Tour, and my fellow competitors, for their understanding. What’s most important now is that my family has the time, privacy, and safe haven we will need for personal healing.

After much soul searching, I have decided to take an indefinite break from professional golf. I need to focus my attention on being a better husband, father, and person.

Again, I ask for privacy for my family and I am especially grateful for all those who have offered compassion and concern during this difficult period.

Woods didn’t announce when he would return, but considering this is golf’s version of their offseason, I’m not surprised by this announcement.

As much as he would love to play at Torrey Pines in January, he could skip his favorite San Diego golf course (and the local women) and come back in March in time for the Masters at Augusta.

If Woods doesn’t return by April, golf fans and the PGA in particular should begin to worry.

Till then, can we focus on something else besides Tiger?

Pretty please?

At least until a woman of color comes forward and claims they slept with Tiger.