Tiger tells AT&T Pro-AM thanks but no thanks ... for now

Associated Press

Thursday, January 18, 2007

No, Tiger Woods will not play in next month’s AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. But his agent, Mark Steinberg, left the door open for Woods’ eventual return ... which counts as progress in the eyes of tournament director Ollie Nutt.

Woods, who won the AT&T in 2000, played in the event in each of his first six years (1997-2002) as a professional. Then he vanished from the Monterey Peninsula, a decision he later attributed to his exasperation with the wet, bumpy poa annua greens at Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill and Poppy Hills.

Nutt typically calls Steinberg in advance of the tournament, just in case Woods has changed his mind. Not this year, but Nutt said Steinberg also told him Woods "expressed really sincere interest" in one day returning to the AT&T. Asked if Steinberg offered any indication when Woods might resurface, Nutt smiled and said, "I’m going to work on next year."

"Mark has always been straight with us," Nutt said Monday after a news conference at the Stanford Golf Course. "There was no reason for him to volunteer that. ... Tiger has a lot of connections to the area."

Steinberg, in an e-mail to The San Francisco Chronicle later Monday, said it was "not out of the question" Woods would consider playing in the AT&T again in the future. Steinberg made it clear Woods has made no commitment.

Nutt even invited Jerry Chang, Woods’ college teammate at Stanford, to play in this year’s tournament. Chang, now a businessman in Southern California, was Woods’ regular amateur partner when he previously entered the AT&T.

At any rate, this year’s field might be Tiger-less, but it does include Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh and Jim Furyk. Other players expected to compete Feb. 8-11 include defending champion Arron Oberholser, fan favorite Fred Couples and U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy.

Another familiar name on the list is Tom Watson, a two-time winner of the event (1977 and ’78) when it was known as the Bing Crosby National Pro-Am. Watson also stitched his name into Pebble Beach lore in June 1982, when his memorable chip-in on No. 17 vaulted him to victory in the U.S. Open.

Watson, 57, will play in the AT&T for the first time since 1999. He wrote a letter to tournament officials last summer, asking to play in this year’s event with his son, Michael, as his amateur partner. Nutt hardly could refuse that request.

"Tom wanted to do it one last time, while he felt he still could be competitive," Nutt said.

Oberholser’s title defense, incidentally, depends partly on his recovery from back spasms that forced him to withdraw after one round of the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship. He also pulled out of last week’s Sony Open, to return to his home in Arizona and begin rehabilitation.

Oberholser hopes to play in next week’s Buick Invitational in San Diego.

"I’ll let how I feel dictate my schedule," he said Monday. "I seem to be making pretty good progress right now."